The Girl with Pink Hair
by WinterWillows
Summary: Dramione! Our pair aren't Head Boy and Head Girl, but they are sharing living quarters, hmmm interesting...Hermione's fate is linked to Avalon, but how and why? Set after DH and loosely canon until the end of that book then AU, I have deviated in some places for the sake of my plot. EWE and HEA. MA rating for language, content and smut. Over 18s only. Aesthetic credit: Vino Amore
1. Chapter 1

Dramione! Our pair aren't Head Boy and Head Girl, but they are sharing living quarters, hmmm interesting….Set after DH and loosely canon, I have deviated in some places for the sake of my plot. EWE and HEA. MA rating for language and smut.

Seventh years were given the option of returning or being granted a set of Acceptable NEWTS as an alternative. Most opted for this, including Harry and Ron, who were accepted straight into auror training at the Ministry of Magic by dint of saving the world from Voldemort, the darkest wizard of all time. A handful opted to return to Hogwarts to repeat their final year, finding a haven in the familiar setting and taking comfort in escaping from the uncertainty and devastation left in the wake of the war.

Yes, this has been done before, many times. Here's my take and it's a little different…Why does Hermione visit the Malfoy's library to research dryads? And why, oh why, does her hair turn pink overnight?!

 **Disclaimer: everything belongs to the Supreme Queen of the Cosmos, JK Rowling. I own nothing except for the plot, a worrying amount of chocolate digestives and some rather lascivious fantasies of Draco Malfoy.**

Chapter One

He sat across from the headmistress, drumming his fingers leisurely and giving the odd sigh to indicate that he had more interesting things to do than waiting to meet Hermione bloody Granger, one of the few students returning for an eighth year at Hogwarts. Professor McGonagall narrowed her eyes at him slightly, not fooled at all by Draco Malfoy's feigned indifference. Just then the door opened and a weary looking girl came in and sat down quietly.

'Good evening Miss Granger, you're a little late. I asked you to come straight to my office after the welcome feast,' the headmistress said pointedly.

'Sorry Professor, I er, had to help a couple of first year stragglers find their way to Gryffindor Tower,' she said nervously. Draco had no doubt she was lying, judging by the soft flush rapidly covering her cheeks. What could Granger possibly have been doing to warrant the lie, he wondered? Nothing very interesting he concluded, smirking. Professor McGonagall pursed her lips but decided to ignore the obvious fib. Knowing Hermione it wouldn't have been anything against school rules, she was probably just chatting to a fellow Gryffindor and lost track of time.

'Very well Miss Granger. Now, I wish to speak to you both about living arrangements for this year,' both teens stiffened a little at this. What did she mean? The castle had been rebuilt after the battle and as far as either knew neither the Slytherin dormitory nor Gryffindor Tower had been much damaged in the first place.

'The last couple of years and the last 12 months in particular have been difficult for both of you, for different reasons. War hurts us all, no matter what side we may find ourselves on.' Draco knew McGonagall was looking at him but refused to meet her eyes.

'Mr Malfoy, I am aware that the decision to return to Hogwarts was made for you by the Wizengamot when they made it a condition of your acquittal. I honestly don't know how the members of your house will react to your presence and I deem it prudent for you to avoid the Slytherin dormitories and instead stay in separate quarters.' Professor McGonagall's tone was firm but not unkind and Draco acknowledged her words with a silent nod. In truth he was relieved; he had been ignored by the other Slytherins at the welcome feast and none had sat next to him at the table. He would be glad not to have to worry about staying on his guard against possible attacks, verbal or otherwise, in the dungeon common room. Hermione risked a glance at him before looking away quickly after encountering his blank expression.

'Miss Granger,' the headmistress began, 'Hermione,' her tone softened. 'I know that you have been suffering from night terrors,' she held her hand up to forestall the girl's protests.' Molly told me how bad they are so don't even think about trying to convince me that it's only been the occasional bad dream.' Hermione closed her mouth. That was exactly what she had been about to claim.

'In addition to your emotional state there is a matter arising in the coming weeks that will be better dealt with in the relative privacy of your shared quarters with Mr Malfoy. You will have your own bedroom of course, which I think will be preferable for you this year.' The headmistress spoke slowly, as if choosing her words carefully and with a measure of uncertainty. While Hermione looked confused at this Draco didn't fail to notice how McGonagall's eyes flickered ever so briefly to the portrait of Dumbledore on the wall.

'But Headmistress, what matter is this? Why have I been told nothing before now? And why must I share with Malfoy?' Hermione cried in consternation.

'Miss Granger, I have no wish to repeat myself. I have explained the reasoning behind my decision not to place you in your house quarters this year. As for the upcoming, ah, developments, I will say no more this evening as it's getting late and approaching curfew. Come and see me tomorrow Miss Granger at 2 o'clock and I will give you what details I can. I will need to see _both of you_ at 7 o'clock on the 18th to explain further what this will mean for you in particular Miss Granger, and also for you as her fellow roommate Mr Malfoy.' McGonagall drew the meeting to an end, she was more than ready for a gillywater and a hot bath before retiring to bed.

Malfoy was nonplussed by the whole conversation and he could see that Granger was having difficulty holding herself back from asking further questions. Urgh, was he really going to be sharing accommodation with her for the next nine months? He gave it less than 24 hours before one of them hexed the other. On the bright side, he reflected, it was better than sharing a house with Voldemort!

A/N: I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, whether good, bad or indifferent.


	2. Chapter 2

_Recap of Chapter One_

 _Malfoy was nonplussed by the whole conversation and he could see that Granger was having difficulty holding herself back from asking further questions. Urgh, was he really going to be sharing accommodation with her for the next nine months? He gave it less than 24 hours before one of them hexed the other. On the bright side, he reflected, it was better than sharing a house with Voldemort!_

A/N: okay so there's a bit of angst in this chapter and a rape scene (don't worry it's not Draco). Consider yourselves warned. Sentences in italics refer to the character's thoughts and also flashback scenes, it should be fairly obvious which is which.

Chapter Two

As soon as she stepped off the staircase and into the corridor she took a couple of steps then leaned against the wall, closing her eyes and holding herself completely still. He looked at her appraisingly, he knew that tense, rigid posture because he had felt it himself – she was trying not to breakdown. He stood quietly, giving her a minute to get herself under control before taking her elbow and gently steering her along the corridor. Ignoring her flinch he simply said, 'it's not far and it's after curfew. It's okay, no one's going to see you.' Draco wanted to get to Phoenix Tower as quickly as possible, dump her in the common room then retreat to his bedroom to be alone. _Just don't start crying,_ he mentally prayed. _I don't want my robes stained with snot and tears thank you very much._

Hermione's throat was locked and she knew that if she tried to speak she would start sobbing so she kept quiet and allowed Draco to lead her to their rooms. She was trembling and trying to stave off another panic attack, her breathing becoming faster. She had thought she would feel safe coming back to Hogwarts and the familiar routine of lessons but she had already had one panic attack, having to run and hide in the girls' bathrooms to pull herself together before going to McGonagall's office. Thank the gods the potions classroom was no longer in the dungeons, if she had to go down there again after – _IT_ – she would surely fall apart. She had to get herself under control just long enough to get to her room, there was no way she could bear to start crying in front of Malfoy. She gave a small shudder at the thought. Thankfully they soon reached the portrait in a small alcove near the end of the sixth floor corridor, where a portrait of a phoenix awaited them. The bird spoke, 'State your names.'

'Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger,' Draco replied, only just realising that McGonagall had failed to give them a password when relaying directions to the newly built tower. The phoenix nodded in response.

'My name is Thea and your password is _orta cinere_. Welcome to your new home young Draco and Hermione.' The portrait graciously swung open to allow them entry.

While both were eager to separate from the other and get to their respective bedrooms they took a few seconds to glance around the room. The stone walls were hung with tapestries depicting medieval knights and damsels as well as heraldic imagery such as unicorns, griffins and lions. The sofas and armchairs were covered in brown leather while the bookshelves and large table and chairs were mahogany. Hermione barely registered her surroundings before making towards the staircase at the back corner of the room. Flying up it she spotted a door marked with her name written in golden script and ran in, sliding down the door as soon as she shut it behind her.

 _Goodnight to you too_ , Draco thought sourly. _Not that I care if the mud – muggleborn speaks to me or not. In fact the less she does the better_. He corrected himself from saying mudblood, even in his head. With the demise of the Dark Lord it wasn't advisable to use such language; if he fucked anything up this year he could be looking at house arrest like his mother, or worse. Taking a last look around the common room he went up the stairs and entered his designated room.

Hermione let the tears come, her throat was aching from keeping them inside. Hogwarts was her home and had been for six years, she had to remember this. One horrific thing happening didn't cancel that out and neither did the bloody battle. Loved ones had died in these grounds yes, but Harry had beaten Voldemort here too. The war against the dark had been won at Hogwarts and it was here that new starts would be made.

The tears continued to fall and the sobs racked her body as she cried for her lost innocence and the way _he_ had brutally assaulted her. The day of the battle had been full of chaos and fear, curses being yelled as people duelled fiercely for their lives. Hermione had split up from Ron as they both went searching for Harry, who had disappeared after Voldemort's ultimatum. She was terrified he was going to do something stupid and was making her way out of the castle when she heard calls for help and ran down the stairs towards the dungeons to help. How stupid to have separated from Ron and gone alone. How fucking stupid.

 _She slowed her pace slightly as she started down the dungeon passage, following the familiar sounding voice but staying on high alert for any Death Eaters. She couldn't quite place the male shouts but was sure it was a fellow student. Thinking she heard footsteps she held her wand aloft and kept walking. Near the end of the passageway was an open door leading into a classroom and she saw him lying on the floor, clutching his side._

 _'What happened? Are they still here?' She whisper-shouted, her eyes darting round the room looking for danger._

 _'He's gone, his mask was on so I don't know which of the bastards it was. I'm hurt and I don't think I can stand up without support Granger. Can you give me a hand up? I need to get back to helping the others.' His voice was weak and she doubted he could do any more fighting in this state._

 _'You can't go back out there,' Hermione said firmly. 'You can barely move and you'll be an easy target. I'm going to move you behind the desk so that you're out of sight, that's the best I can do right now.' She had to act quickly and get back to Harry, hopefully he had reappeared by now. They had destroyed the diadem and now there was only the snake and Voldemort himself left. They were so close to finishing this! She knelt down beside him and started to gently move his robes aside to inspect the damage. Before she had got very far he pounced and flipped her over, tossing her wand to the side of the room before sending a locking spell towards the door, swiftly followed by a silencing one._

 _'What are you doing?' Her eyes widened in confusion, not yet comprehending what was going on._

 _'You dumb bitch. For a supposed know-it-all you're not very bright, are you?' He laughed without humour. 'You're unlikely to survive the day, so I'm going to get what I want before I return to the Dark Lord. Ah, you didn't know I was His did you? Stupid little mudblood. I've been spying for Him since fifth year, telling Him all about your pathetic little DA club', he sneered in her face. He couldn't get the words out fast enough, he'd been waiting so long for this moment._

 _He was sitting on her legs and spelled her arms above her head, stilling her movements before she could lash out at him. Fear gripped her and she opened her mouth to scream but her voice was frozen and she couldn't make a sound._

 _'Come on Granger, you can do better than that. I want to hear you scream, it adds to the fun,' he grinned evilly._

 _She tried bucking her legs but found she couldn't move them, they felt like jelly. He seemed to guess what she was trying to do as his expression changed, excitement coming over his features. Sitting up he positioned himself between her legs and pushed her top up before ripping her bra down the centre. His sweaty hands grabbed her breasts, squeezing them painfully._

 _'I always knew you had big tits, Granger. I don't know why you tried to hide them under those baggy clothes, I thought a little mudblood slut like you would welcome the attention. Or did you save them for your precious Potter and Weasley?' His tone mocked her, his fingers now pulling painfully on her nipples._

 _'Don't worry bitch, I'm going to show you how a real man fucks his whore. A real wizard, one with pure, unsullied blood, not some scarheaded half-blood or ginger twat of a blood traitor.' His breathing was coming rapidly now, his eyes alight with perverted passion._

 _Hermione finally found her voice and started to scream at him to stop. She couldn't believe this was happening, he couldn't really be doing this, and he couldn't really be on Voldemort's side. Her brain couldn't take in his betrayal. He moved back from her and undid his trousers, pushing them and his underwear down to his ankles. He was getting impatient and so he used his wand to remove her jeans and pants before pushing her legs wider apart, making her scream in pain. Realising that this was really going to happen, he was actually going to rape her, she tried to summon her wand but he caught it easily before it reached her hand. He backhanded her in anger and yelled a silencio spell in her face._

 _'Did you really think I'm as dense as you, Granger? Now you've ruined it, I wanted to hear your screams as I fuck you raw. But no matter, I'm still going to enjoy this. He slapped her breasts then forced his fingers inside her. His face contorted in rage._

 _'Why aren't you wet for me? I thought a whore like you would be begging for some pureblood cock to fill your dirty cunt!' He roared angrily. Then he spat on his hand and rubbed the saliva around the ugly purple head of his dick before brutally pushing it inside her most private place. A silent scream ripped through Hermione as she felt the sensitive tissues being torn and fluid pooling inside her. Somewhere at the back of her mind she registered that it must be blood. Tears began to flow silently as she lay there while he raped her, stealing her virginity and her dignity. She was helpless to stop him._

 _It was over mercifully quickly. He performed a scourgify spell on himself, saying that he had to clean her filth off. He was at the door before he turned round and removed the spells._

 _'I've had better.' He threw the words contemptuously over his shoulder as he left, presumably to make his way to Voldemort's contingent in the grounds._

 _It took Hermione a number of minutes before she was able to move her brutalised body and dress herself. She managed to find her wand at the back of the classroom where he had thrown it the second time and repair her bra before straightening her clothes and heading back out to accept whatever fate awaited._

At last her sobs abated and she crawled to the bed. She got inside without undressing, emotionally spent, and fell asleep immediately. Along the corridor Draco turned over in bed, relieved that the crying noises had stopped and he could get some sleep.

A/N: okay that wasn't easy to write and I'm sure it wasn't easy to read either, but that flashback is important to the plot. I promise to give you an easier time in the next chapter! We'll find out a bit more about the mysterious changes that await Hermione. Any theories on why McGonagall wants to speak to them on the 18th? And any guesses on the identity of Hermione's attacker?


	3. Chapter 3

_Recap of Chapter Two_

 _At last her sobs abated and she crawled to the bed. She got inside without undressing, emotionally spent, and fell asleep immediately. Along the corridor Draco turned over in bed, relieved that the crying noises had stopped and he could get some sleep._

A/N: thank you for the feedback my lovelies. Reviews are as satisfying as popping the seal on a new jar of coffee. Happy sigh. I enjoyed reading the guesses but you're going to have to wait quite a while to find out – yes, I'm mean that way!

Reminder: sentences in italics refer to the character's thoughts and also flashback scenes; it should be fairly obvious which is which.

Chapter Three

Hermione lay frozen in a feverish sweat, trapped in the throes of her nightmare. Her subconscious had a tried and tested repertoire of three recurring scenarios from the last few months of her life and tonight was the worst one: the rape. The most traumatic part of the whole event, the bit that she never _ever_ thought about while awake, was replayed in her tortured mind as she slept.

 _He pulled out of her aching centre and spat on her mound. He looked down on her with hatred and scorn when suddenly his gaze alighted on her arm and Bellatrix's handiwork –_ _ **mudblood**_ _. His eyes took on a crazed look and he whispered a spell on his wand before using it to slice some words of his own into her inner thighs. Her silent screams of agony contorted her face. He performed a scourgify spell on himself, saying that he had to clean her filth off. He was at the door before he turned round and removed the spells._

' _I've had better.' He threw the words contemptuously over his shoulder as he left, presumably to make his way to Voldemort's contingent in the grounds._

 _It took Hermione a number of minutes before she was able to move her brutalised body and dress herself. She managed to find her wand at the back of the classroom where he had thrown it the second time and repair her bra before straightening her clothes and heading back out to accept whatever fate awaited._

Draco woke to screams and immediately ducked his head under his pillows, not wanting to hear the torturing of muggles by the resident Death Eaters, a sickening event that occurred most nights. A few seconds later his brain kicked into gear and he remembered that Voldemort was dead and he wasn't in the manor anymore, he was back at Hogwarts. _Granger!_ He leapt out of bed, grabbing his wand and muttering a hasty _lumos_ as he ran out into the landing and towards her room, ready to take on her attackers. What he saw when he flung open the door stopped him in his tracks. There was no one in the room but Hermione, however it was her position on the bed that made Draco falter; her arms were stretched straight out above her head as if they were being held there and her legs were spread unnaturally far apart, the bedcovers tangled near her ankles.

'No! Please stop, please stop! It hurts too much, please!' She screamed over and over again.

'Granger, you're having a nightmare. It's just a dream, it's just a dream, Granger!' He called out to her desperately, there was no way he was moving any closer to her if he could possibly avoid it. No reaction. He tried again, shouting louder this time. _Shit, will nothing wake her? The old bat wasn't kidding when she said night terrors!_ Finally he yelled at her loudly enough to waken her and she sat straight up, clamping her legs together. Hermione drew in lungfuls of air and stared at Draco with something akin to terror on her face.

'Merlin Granger, I'm not going to hurt you. Your shrieking woke me up – you sounded as if the Dark Lord himself was attacking you!' He dropped his wand and held his hands up in a calming gesture, hoping to reassure her.

 _Gods save me from hysterical women!_ Draco was exasperated and exhausted, but the adrenalin burst guaranteed he wouldn't sleep anymore tonight. Hermione's breathing slowed and her shoulders slumped in weary resignation. Another night, another nightmare. Knowing Malfoy had witnessed it made it 100 times worse. Unable to look him in the eye, she turned to the window and saw that the sky was already starting to lighten. It probably wasn't too long before she would have to get up anyway. Malfoy seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he gave an exaggerated sigh and said 'look, there's no point trying to get any more sleep. Do you want some tea?'

 _What? Did Malfoy just offer to make tea for me, the mudblood? Am I still dreaming?_

'I'll have coffee please,' she said, testing her dream theory.

He nodded and left the room, leaving Hermione sitting there with her mouth hanging open in surprise. After using the bathroom – which had a second door, she noted with suspicion – she made her way downstairs to the common room. She was still in yesterday's clothes but she'd deal with that after some much-needed caffeine. Hermione narrowed her eyes at the scene before her, there was Malfoy, lounging on the sofa as a house elf placed a tray of coffee things on the table in front of him.

'Thank you Maisy,' he spoke softly to the little elf and she smiled in return.

'You is welcome young master Malfoy. Maisy is happy to see you again!' And with that she vanished with a small pop, presumably back to the kitchens far below.

'Before you say a word Granger, I freed her from the manor and she now works here at Hogwarts. For a salary. With days off and everything,' he drawled. Hermione spluttered, unsure how to reply to this. Her world view appeared to be disintegrating rapidly, first Malfoy appeared to be concerned about her wellbeing, rescuing her from the horrific nightmare then offering her coffee; now he was going around freeing house elves? What the hell?!

'Er…what?' She stuttered.

'So eloquent, Granger. Not much of a morning person are you?' Draco mocked. 'I freed all the house elves at the manor. Some of them chose to stay – and yes, I pay them – and the others came here.' He shrugged casually, as if he went about freeing house elves as a matter of course. Hermione sipped her coffee in silence for a moment before venturing to speak again.

'Who are you and what have you done with Draco 'I'm a stuck up git' Malfoy?'

'I'm still a git, but I'm _marginally_ less stuck up now.' To Hermione's surprise he grinned at her, and she found herself stifling a giggle.

A/N: I know I said I'd reveal a bit about what's in store for our Hermione but I lied. Well, not on purpose, the nightmare scene just took me a bit longer to write than expected. Any more theories on what's going to happen on the 18th of September?

I apologise for the chapters being relatively short but I'm hoping the daily updates will buy your forgiveness? Oh, and I'm going to throw you a bone – it's not Neville!


	4. Chapter 4

_Recap of Chapter Three_

' _So eloquent, Granger. Not much of a morning person are you?' Draco mocked. 'I freed all the house elves at the manor. Some of them chose to stay – and yes, I pay them – and the others came here.' He shrugged casually, as if he went about freeing house elves as a matter of course. Hermione sipped her coffee in silence for a moment before venturing to speak again._

' _Who are you and what have you done with Draco 'I'm a stuck up git' Malfoy?'_

' _I'm still a git, but I'm marginally less stuck up now.' To Hermione's surprise he grinned at her, and she found herself stifling a giggle._

A/N: This is a bit of a filler chapter I'm afraid, but this is a slow burn Dramione and we're in it for the long haul so suck it up my lovelies! This sets the scene for some interesting revelations in the next chapter.

Reminder: sentences in italics refer to the character's thoughts and also flashback scenes; it should be fairly obvious which is which.

Chapter Four

Draco stayed on the sofa after Hermione left to get ready for the day, after all there was no point in moving until she'd finished in the bathroom. He had plenty on his mind. Being back at Hogwarts was surreal to say the least, but it was slightly more comfortable than staying at the manor. The place held too many horrific memories of Voldemort and the Death Eaters, plus his relationship with his parents – now under house arrest for the next five years – was strained at best and it was something of a relief to get away from them.

He had been unsure of the reaction of his former housemates to his somewhat shocking return; they had been wary of him in the great hall the previous evening and he had no doubt that some wished him harm. Only Blaise Zabini had returned from his year group and they hadn't exactly been close before the war, Draco had no idea what sharing classes with him would be like. The more immediate matter on his mind however was Granger. Was he going to be kept awake every night by her blasted sobbing then woken up at ridiculous hours of the morning by her screeching? Gods, it would be a return to his sleepless state of sixth year! Okay, maybe that was a _teeny_ bit of an exaggeration… _nothing_ could be as bad as that he admitted to himself.

The sight of her lying in the middle of her bed in that disturbing position wasn't one that he would forget any time soon. He wasn't stupid, he had a fair idea what the nightmare had been about and could only hope that it wasn't due to a real life event, but rather the product of an overactive imagination. _Yeah right, as if that's likely! It looked and sounded way too real for that._ That train of thought was stopped in its tracks when he heard the distant sound of the shower stop and he got up to get ready to face his first day back at Hogwarts.

Hermione hurried out of the bathroom, making sure to lock both the bathroom door behind her and her bedroom door. There was no way she was risking Malfoy coming in while she was dressing. Having to share a bathroom with him was going to be stressful, she'd have to take care to remember to lock both doors each time she used it. As if she needed something else to worry about!

Gently Hermione patted her skin dry and started to apply dittany ointment to the painful scars on her inner thighs. Four months on and they showed little sign of healing. After securing fresh bandages she quickly donned clean underwear and trousers because she couldn't bear to look at the butchered skin any longer than absolutely necessary. Thank Circe for black trousers! The blood sometimes seeped through by the end of the day and at least she could avoid any noticeable stains this way. Next was her sturdy flesh coloured minimiser bra, designed to be invisible under a white school shirt and make her breasts look smaller, it ensured that no attention was drawn to her curves. Not that she was planning on removing her baggy school jumper or robes. No, every inch of skin possible was covered.

Heading into the great hall for breakfast she made an effort to try and slow her breathing down to avoid a panic attack and reasoned with herself that if he hadn't been there last night it meant that he hadn't come back, she would be safe. Anxiously she scanned the tables and began to relax a little when she couldn't spot him. Breathing more easily now, Hermione headed over to the Gryffindor table to sit with Ginny and Neville, ready to pretend to be cheerful.

'Where did you disappear off to last night? I thought we might have been sharing a dorm since you're the only seventh year Gryffindor girl to come back.' Ginny asked, clearly itching to know the answer.

'Good morning to you too Ginny. I'm surprised you noticed, what with being in the Head Girl's dorms,' Hermione teased, playing for time. Why hadn't she prepared for this question? Of course her absence would have been noted, she groaned internally.

'Actually I opted to stay in Gryffindor Tower, everything's familiar there and I need some kind of normality back in my life. I can just as easily do my Head Girl duties from there,' Ginny said quietly. Hermione and Neville nodded in understanding.

'McGonagall wanted to see me. She's given me separate quarters because of the, ah … so I don't disturb anyone else at night,' she faltered in her explanation. Ginny obviously knew about the night terrors because she had stayed at The Burrow since the battle, but Neville didn't. He wasn't daft however.

'Do you have nightmares? Me too, Hermione. I think a lot of us do after everything that happened.' Neville briefly placed his hand on hers but retracted it immediately when she recoiled. Ginny looked at her in surprise but Neville quickly changed the subject by announcing that the prefects were handing out timetables. Hermione flashed him a look somewhere between apologetic and grateful and snatched hers up to see what her first class of the day was. Attached was a brief note reminding her of her 2pm appointment with the headmistress. Hermione checked to see what class she would miss – Charms. Great, no doubt they'd be covering spells that would come up in the N.E.W.T.S., just her luck! She'd have to see Flitwick later to find out what she needed to catch up on.

The morning passed quickly for Hermione and she felt relieved to be in a familiar routine. Her anxiety levels started to rise again however, as she approached McGonagall's office. Giving the password to the gargoyle (pepper imps), she stepped onto the moving staircase and wondered what she was about to find out.

'Miss Granger, have a seat and help yourself to a cup of tea,' invited Professor McGonagall, gesturing towards the tea things on her desk. She was not looking forward to this meeting and knew she would shortly be bombarded with countless questions that she simply didn't have the answers to.

'I must begin by saying that this knowledge has only come to light very recently Hermione, we have not deliberately kept it from you, or at least only one of us has. Professor Snape was the Secret Keeper for what I'm about to tell you and with his death certain documents were bequeathed to me, one of them being a letter addressed to you.' Hermione noted the use of her first name and felt a sense of unease at what was coming.

'Along with your letter was one addressed to me. Severus saw fit to be sparing with the details,' the headmistress sniffed disapprovingly. 'It appears that you were adopted within days of your birth. Severus wrote that your father is unknown, but your mother was a dryad from the forests of Avalon,' she said as gently as she could.

Hermione let out a small laugh of disbelief. 'I beg your pardon, Headmistress? Could you please run that past me again?'

Minerva sighed and wondered if it would be possible to spike her tea without Hermione noticing. It looked like she was in for a long afternoon and a wee nip of gillywater – better yet, firewhisky – would be most welcome.

A/N: dum, dum, dum! No, this isn't a 'Hermione is a pureblood' story. Things are about to get interesting but I'm afraid you'll probably have to wait till Sunday for an update because tonight I shall be imbibing wine and watching Bridget Jones for the 43rd time. Happy sigh.


	5. Chapter 5

_Recap of Chapter Four_

' _Along with your letter was one addressed to me. Severus saw fit to be sparing with the details,' the headmistress sniffed disapprovingly. 'It appears that you were adopted within days of your birth. Severus wrote that your father is unknown, but your mother was a dryad from the forests of Avalon,' she said as gently as she could._

 _Hermione let out a small laugh of disbelief. 'I beg your pardon, Headmistress? Could you please run that past me again?'_

 _Minerva sighed and wondered if it would be possible to spike her tea without Hermione noticing. It looked like she was in for a long afternoon and a wee nip of gillywater – better yet, firewhisky – would be most welcome._

A/N: shout-out to IGOTEAMEDWARD and riaroo400 for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! Reviews are as satisfying as that first sip of coffee in the morning. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts or a flashback; it should be fairly clear which one is which.

Chapter Five

Hermione continued to stare at her empty teacup, it had been five minutes since her last question ' _but can dryads even have children?_ ' and Minerva found the continued silence unnerving.

'Do you think I could have something stronger?' Hermione asked, still looking at the teacup.

'Of course dear, you've had quite a shock,' McGonagall replied, inwardly cheering, her nerves were becoming frazzled and a dram was just what she needed. Opening a desk drawer she produced a bottle of Ogdens Finest and poured each of them a generous measure. Hermione downed hers in one gulp and held the cup out for more. Pursing her lips, the headmistress gave her a refill before replacing the bottle in the drawer, signalling the end of her supply. The second ration was consumed more slowly.

'I need to find out more about dryads. And Avalon.' Hermione added as an afterthought.

'Of course, I'm sure we have some useful volumes in the library. I'm sorry I can't be of more assistance on the subject, so little is known about dryads and the extent of my knowledge is that they are tree nymphs. I had understood it that they kept themselves away from the male of the species,' Minerva murmured delicately. She chose her next words carefully, 'I know of another library with an even more extensive collection than our own… that of the Malfoys.'

Hermione coughed on her firewhisky. _Er, NO! Never going to happen, I won't set foot in that building again in this lifetime._ Surely the Hogwarts library would be enough for her needs, it had never let her down before.

'No doubt there is important information for you in the letter entrusted to first Severus and then myself,' McGonagall said pointedly. She hadn't really expected her suggestion to visit the Malfoy family library to go be well received, but she would have been failing in her duty of care to the orphaned girl not to at least mention it. She was puzzled as to why Hermione hadn't immediately opened the letter, it was quite unlike the girl not to pounce on a source of new information.

Hermione looked down at the yellowed envelope, addressed in faded sepia ink. There was a knot in the pit of her stomach and she couldn't bring herself to open it. She was, quite simply, afraid. Too much had been taken away from her during the war, too much had changed and she didn't think she could take any more. Taking a deep breath Hermione pushed the envelope back towards Professor McGonagall.

'I don't think I want to read this, Professor. There's no need for me to know the details for the moment. I think I'll do a little investigation into tree nymphs and maybe return to the letter in a few months or so, after Christmas perhaps. If I'm not too busy preparing for the N.E.W.T.s ,' Hermione said dismissively. She was suddenly eager to escape and for this day to be over. She didn't want to know that her murdered parents weren't her biological mother and father; she didn't want to know that she was some kind of creature – what was a nymph even classed as anyway? A magical creature, being, what? Were they immortal? No, she shook her head, she didn't want to know right now, she'd had enough and rose to leave.

'Miss Granger, before you take your leave,' the headmistress began warily. She could tell that Hermione had had her fill and was keen to go, but there was more to be said. 'The details of your parentage are going to have a direct impact on your life. You need to read the letter soon. As I mentioned yesterday evening, we shall meet again on the 18th at 7pm. Mr Malfoy will accompany you as he will be indirectly affected and we will discuss your coming into your dryadic heritage and what it will entail.'

Hermione opened her mouth then closed it again. A wave of fatigue came over her and she lost the desire to question what exactly McGonagall was talking about. Instead she nodded her assent and left to make her way back to the common room. She had no intention of going to her last lesson of the day, History of Magic, the damn envelope was clasped in her hand.

Draco walked into the common room after dinner to find Hermione curled up on the sofa staring into the flames of the fireplace. Rifling through his bag he pulled out a couple of sheets of parchment and placed them in front of her on the coffee table.

'Here's a copy of my notes from Charms, I know you had that meeting with McGonagall. You didn't miss much, Flitwick was basically recapping what we covered in 6th year,' Draco said. He noticed the envelope lying on the table next to the notes. He leaned closer to read the addressee, wondering if a letter had arrived for him by owl. Instead of his own name he read the title _'Hermione Vine, Daughter of the Forests of Avalon'_.

'Well this is new,' he drawled. Hermione snorted into her glass, not bothering to reply. He peered at the strange looking clear liquid, it appeared to have flakes of gold suspended in it. Frowning, he noticed a bottle on the floor, picked it up and unscrewed the lid to take a tentative sniff.

'Wow Granger, hitting the hard stuff? This smells stronger than firewhisky!' Draco exclaimed. Hermione shrugged and used a silent _accio_ to summon a second glass. He raised an eyebrow at this, was she pissed? _What, are we drinking buddies now? She better not be a maudlin drunk, I can't face her bawling again._ Still, he took the glass and poured himself a cautious measure. 'So, what are we drinking to, skipping meals? I didn't see you at dinner.' _Not that I was looking for you, as if!_ Draco readied himself for a scornful response but was completely taken aback by her next words.

'Finding out that I'm half-nymph, or half-dryad to be precise,' she deadpanned. She downed the rest of her glass and held it out in silent request. Draco looked at her nonplussed, swallowed his own drink and poured them both generous refills.

A/N: well, now we're beginning to get somewhere. Do you think Hermione will change her mind and go on a research trip to Malfoy Manor? More importantly, how will she manage double Potions tomorrow morning with a killer hangover?!


	6. Chapter 6

_Recap of Chapter Five_

' _Wow Granger, hitting the hard stuff? This smells stronger than firewhisky!' Draco exclaimed. Hermione shrugged and used a silent accio to summon a second glass. He raised an eyebrow at this, was she pissed?_ What, are we drinking buddies now?She better not be a maudlin drunk, I can't face her bawling again _. Still, he took the glass and poured himself a cautious measure. 'So, what are we drinking to, skipping meals? I didn't see you at dinner.'_ Not that I was looking for you, as if! _Draco readied himself for a scornful response but was completely taken aback by her next words._

' _Finding out that I'm half-nymph, or half-dryad to be precise,' she deadpanned. She downed the rest of her glass and held it out in silent request. Draco looked at her nonplussed, swallowed his own drink and poured them both generous refills._

A/N: another shout-out to IGOTEAMEDWARD and riaroo400 for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! You both get a slice of lemon drizzle cake. Reviews are as satisfying as finding a new hiding place for my stash of chocolate digestives that the kids haven't discovered (yet).

Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which one is which.

And now, finally, we get to read the mysterious letter that Snape kept hidden from Hermione from all these years!

Chapter Six

Draco considered cracking a joke about not being able to call her a mudblood anymore but wisely decided against it, he rather liked having all his appendages where they were.

'So explain to me Granger, how can you be part-dryad with muggle parents? And by the way, what are we drinking? It's setting my throat on fire, I've never had anything like it!' He queried, choosing to top their glasses up again. After all, the strong cinnamon taste wasn't unpleasant.

'Don't know and Goldschlager, it's a muggle drink with cinnamon and flakes of real gold in it,' she muttered. She relented and told him, 'McGonagall says that my parents weren't my biological parents, so I assume that means I'm adopted. That letter is supposed to explain it all.'

'That _unopened_ letter?' He asked dryly.

'That's the one.' Draco was puzzled, why hadn't she ripped the letter open as soon as she got it? Hermione Granger liked to know everything, right?

'I take it your parents never mentioned the small matter of being adopted? What will you say to them?' Part of him wondered why he was interested enough to ask while the other part reasoned that it wasn't like he had anywhere better (or even else) to be, so why not sit with her a bit?

Hermione stiffened. She was now quietly sozzled with firewhisky and schnapps and the words came out of her mouth before her brain fully registered what she was revealing. 'They're dead. Death Eaters got to them before I could move them to safety,' she said steadily, without tears. She'd had a year to grieve and many nights of sobbing silently during her guard shifts outside the tent while on the run.

'I'm sorry,' Draco said quietly, aware of the inadequacy of the words but at a loss as to what else to say. He hadn't heard anything of this at the manor, but then he had kept to his rooms as much as possible and his father was no longer a member of the inner circle after his fall from grace, so they heard little of what went on. He looked around for a distraction and impulsively snatched up the letter. 'Well Hermione _Vine_ , if you're not going to open this then I am,' and with that he broke the seal and unfolded the old parchment carefully.

Hermione gasped in outrage at his impertinence. _How bloody dare he? Self-entitled prat!_ A tiny part of her brain argued that it felt good to have the decision taken out of her hands; the letter could easily have lain there for days otherwise. Draco scanned the letter, breathed in as if to speak and then exhaled loudly and went back to the first page to read the whole thing again. Slowly. He then looked at the seal for a long moment.

Hermione's curiosity finally got the better of her. 'Well?' She snapped. Draco looked up at her, wondering what to say. He eventually settled for silently handing the pages over.

 _Dearest Hermione,_

 _I write to you as a friend of your mother. She loved you so very much darling girl and hoped to survive the birth to be everything that a mother should be to her daughter. We knew it was unlikely, but still we hoped. My trusted friend Severus and I worked hard to save her life, please believe me when I tell you this Hermione – we used all the healing spells we knew, but they weren't enough to save my sweet Bryony. Dryads are not meant to bear children and you are truly a miracle from the goddess, as the prophecy foretold._

 _As I write this Severus is preparing your new life. He has found you a muggle family, far from here, where you will be safe. We have performed an ancient spell using blood magic and hope beyond measure that this will be enough to cloak you from the Dark Lord until you are of an age to defend yourself._

 _The Dark Lord cast eyes upon your mother at the Battle of Avalon. He was seeking Excalibur as the ultimate magical weapon. I think in His madness He sees himself as the new Arthur, come again to rid Britain of those that threaten its greatness. When He saw your mother He knew that you could be a weapon to surpass even the sword of a king; a child of a dryad is an unheard of thing and you are the first among your kind my precious girl, carrying great power._

 _It pains me to tell you that your father was slain in the battle, but know that he died to protect your mother. I can tell you only that he was named Taliesin and lived as a bardic druid on the Isle of Avalon, I am sorry that I have no more information to give you child._

 _Although many druids and priestesses fell that day, they managed to eject us from the Isle with powerful magics. As soon as it was safe for me to slip away unseen I went back for your mother, it seems Severus had the same idea because he arrived moments later and apparated the three of us to his home._

 _Bryony opened my eyes to the Dark Lord's falsehoods and darkness. What man could want to rip a babe from its mother's womb? I knew then that I could no longer follow Him; indeed, I have taken action that I pray will someday assist with His downfall. I was successful in my task but my days now are numbered, the Dark Lord has put a price upon my head and it is unlikely I will see out the month. While we are safe here for the moment, due to the protection of the fidelius charm, it is imperative that we move you to safety in the next day or so little one. Your dryad magic has been hidden so He will be unable to track you and He would never think to look for you in the muggle world. I wish I could do more, I wish your mother were still here and I could take both of you to another country and keep you safe. But in these days of fear wishes mean nothing. I can only believe that we have done enough to protect you and you will live to fulfil the prophecy your mother spoke of._

 _When you come into your heritage you must travel to Avalon. The Lady of the Lake will have the answers you seek. Live a long and happy life, Hermione._

 _Your servant,_

 _Regulus Black._

Hermione stared dumbly at the letter before raising her eyes to Draco.

'Well fuck me. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that,' she whispered.

At any other time the sight of a speechless Hermione Granger would have amused Draco, but as it was, he could only nod his head in agreement. The girl – no, woman – beside him had suddenly got a lot more interesting.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed it! There's a lot of confusion here for our poor Hermione to work through. Any thoughts on what will be revealed in the meeting on the 18th?


	7. Chapter 7

_Recap of Chapter Six_

 _Hermione stared dumbly at the letter before raising her eyes to Draco._

' _Well fuck me. I don't know what I was expecting but it wasn't that,' she whispered._

 _At any other time the sight_ _of a speechless_ _Hermione Granger would have amused Draco, but_ _as it was, he could only nod his head in agreement. The girl – no, woman – beside him had suddenly got_ _a lot more_ _interesting._

A/N: shout-outs to IGOTEAMEDWARD, riaroo400, jake jackson, rachelll11, and BadWolfJiggy for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! You all get a yummy hazelnut latte. Reviews are as satisfying as putting on clean pyjamas and climbing into a freshly made bed.

Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which one is which.

Chapter Seven

'Well,' remarked Draco, unsure of what to say but feeling he ought to say _something_.

'Quite. Dryads and druids instead of muggles, I don't know what to make of it,' Hermione said softly. She started to reach for the cinnamon schnapps, faintly registering that the bottle seemed to be a lot lighter than earlier.

'Granger, I'm cutting you off. You've had a good half of this bottle and skipped dinner, you're going to have a hell of a hangover in the morning,' he said firmly, removing the bottle from her grasp. Hermione looked puzzled, this was an odd role reversal.

'I thought I was meant to be the boring, sensible one?' She queried.

'Oh don't worry you are. I'd prefer not to be woken by the sounds of you vomiting your guts up however, so no more for you,' Draco tried and failed not to smirk at her put out expression.

'But I only had a few! Oh, and the firewhiskies with McGonagall,' she added as an afterthought, nodding her head in agreement with herself. Draco raised an eyebrow at this, _my, she really is_ _teacher's pet!_

'Even more reason for you to go to bed. On you go, I'll bring you up some water,' he had no idea why he said that. He reasoned that he needed some himself, that was all, and filled two glasses in the kitchenette before following Hermione upstairs.

Draco looked at his watch. Potions was in an hour and he needed to get going if he wanted to fit in some breakfast (two mugs of coffee and toast) first. He hesitated a moment. He hadn't heard anything from Granger's room, probably still sleeping it off he thought. He was halfway across the common room before he groaned and turned around, he couldn't let her sleep in and miss class, she'd be seriously upset and no doubt he'd be on the receiving end. He'd probably get it from Slughorn too. _Shit. I do not need this in the first week back!_ He knocked on her door, waited a full minute then walked in, calling her name as he went.

'Come on Granger, rise and shine! Potions starts in an hour and we can't have the resident teacher's pet being late now, can we?' He mocked. No answer came, but she snuggled into the duvet a little more. He tried again, starting to feel a bit guilty – this might well have been her first unbroken night of sleep in months if last night was anything to go by. It looked like she hadn't bothered to change into her pyjamas again, or perhaps she always slept in her uniform? _Strange girl_.

'Granger!' He shouted, nearing the bed. 'If you don't move your arse I'm going to pull the damn covers off you!' Another snuggle. 'Okay, don't say I didn't give you fair warning,' and with that he pulled the duvet right off the bed. His face then proceeded to flush with embarrassment. Hermione grumbled half-heartedly at her rude awakening and attempted to open her eyes.

'Um Granger, I think you've got your period,' he stumbled over the word.

'My what?' She mumbled, squinting up at him and wondering what the hell he was talking about.

'Your er, moon cycle. I think you've got it.' He wanted to leave, badly. He started to move towards the door.

'Don't be silly Malfoy, I don't get those,' she sighed wearily. _Oh gods, she's still pissed. I'm going to be in so much shit with Slughorn. Never mind that she was drunk before I even got back, oh no, it will be the ex-Death Eater roommate that gets the blame. Fuck!_

'Granger, you're still drunk from last night. I'm going to get you a hangover potion then you're going to shower, take care of your, er, women's stuff, and get to class if I have to drag you there myself,' he said through gritted teeth. He escaped briefly to his room then returned with a small phial.

'Why do you keep saying I've got my moon cycle? I told you, I don't get them, some kind of late developer or something.' Hermione shrugged.

'Drink this. There's blood on your sheets,' he told her, studiously avoiding eye contact.

'Oh. It's probably the bandages again,' she nodded sagely then winced at the pain in her head. Leaning up on her elbow she didn't see Draco frown at her as she drank the potion. He looked down at her body, trying to work out where she could be wounded. It occurred to him that the bleeding must be bad to have soaked through both bandages and clothes. Why was she hurt anyway? From the battle? What the hell kind of wound still bleeds four months later?

'Oh fuck,' she realised what she had just said and started to panic. 'I didn't mean that. Um, I was still pissed, that's right, I didn't know what I was saying. Now get out of my room Malfoy, I need to get up!' Hermione's face was horror-struck and she could feel tears of shame and fear starting. She had to get him out of there before he started asking questions.

'No. You're obviously hurt and you need help. I'm going to take you to the hospital wing,' he reached down for her hand and she shrank back.

'No, please! I'm not going there, I don't want anyone to know. Please don't tell, Malfoy. Please!' She begged, the first tears starting to fall. He knelt down beside the bed and looked up into her face, she was frightened and there was something else too…. was that embarrassment he saw? No, it was shame he decided. He'd seen it often enough when he looked in the mirror to be able to recognise it in others. Draco's mind flickered back to her nightmare and he felt uneasy. Her breathing started to speed up and he was worried she was going to hyperventilate.

'Calm down. It's okay, I'm not going to force you to go,' he said soothingly. Hermione's shoulders sagged in relief. 'On one condition.' She tensed immediately. 'You let me see the damage and help clean you up,' he said steadily, looking right into her eyes. She saw that he was serious but how could she let him see the wounds? They were disgusting. _She_ was disgusting. She didn't want to take her trousers off in front of him either, that was altogether too much flesh to show.

Hermione closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her breathing. When she had it under control Draco handed her the untouched glass of water from the evening before and she sipped it, slowly calming down.

'Would you feel better if Maisy was here? She could bring fresh dressings too,' he said, hoping that the presence of a female (albeit a non-human one) might put her at ease a bit more. Hermione thought. If Maisy knew she might be able to keep her supplied with ointment and dressings, which would relieve her of the stress of trying to buy them in Hogsmeade without anyone noticing. But then Maisy answered to the headmistress now, not Malfoy. What if she felt duty bound to tell McGonagall? She came to a decision.

'No, I can't risk her telling McGonagall. She might feel that she has no choice once she sees the… the….' Hermione couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. He nodded slowly, seeing the truth in her words. 'You must promise me you won't tell, Malfoy. Please,' she begged, desperation in her tone.

'I can't take an unbreakable vow without involving a third person, Granger. Can you accept my word that I won't tell anyone without your permission?' He looked straight into her eyes, trying to convey his sincerity. _Can I trust him? Think of everything he's done…. He let Death Eaters into Hogwarts – but his family were under threat if he refused. He tried to kill Dumbledore – but lowered his wand and didn't harm him. He didn't identify Harry to Bellatrix and Lucius. He stood by while that bitch tortured me – yet if he had tried to stop her she probably would have killed both of us…_

The arguments and counter-arguments ran through her mind but in the end one thing stood out, he hadn't identified Harry, and that was enough for her to take a leap of faith. She nodded to him, signifying her acceptance.

'Okay, lie back down. I'm going to fetch some warm water and a cloth. Do you have fresh dressings?' Hermione pointed to the cupboard in her bedside table and he took out a large pink washbag, stuffed with bandages and tubes of ointment. When he returned with the bowl of water and damp cloth Draco sat on the bed beside Hermione. 'Where are you hurt?' He asked gently.

'My thighs,' she whispered, trying not to cry. She knew that they were going to look even worse than usual because of being wrapped in the same bloody dressings for 24 hours. She reached down and undid the button at her waist then pulled the fly zip down. By this point she was feeling sick, she didn't want Malfoy to see how repulsive the mess was, and she really _really_ didn't want to be undressing in front of him.

'I'm going to take your trousers off, okay? Can you lift your hips up for a second?' He spoke to her like he would a frightened animal. Dread knotted in his stomach as he slowly peeled her school trousers down. Her thighs were covered in blood and he quickly summoned a thick towel from the bathroom. 'Lift up again?' Draco gently eased the towel underneath her bottom and thighs and took a deep breath. 'Granger, I'm going to need you to move your legs apart a bit so that I can take the bandages off and clean you up,' he sounded much calmer than he felt.

 _It's not him, it's not him. This is Malfoy, he's helping me, he won't hurt me. It's not him, it's not him. This is Malfoy, he's helping me, he won't hurt me._ Hermione repeated the mantra over and over in her head. She was trying to stay grounded in the present and not lose herself in memories. She cupped one hand over her knickers and slowly widened her legs her legs a little while Draco began the painful process of easing off the bloodied dressings, trying to hurt her as little as possible.

He stared at her thighs for several seconds, not really believing what he saw. Despite the blood – both dried and fresh – he could clearly see the words carved into her white thighs. On the inside of her right thigh was MUDBLOOD; on the inside of her left was WHORE.

Draco barely made it to the loo in time before he emptied his stomach. Hermione lay on her bed wishing she were dead.

A/N: okay, so this one was a bit angsty and we're no further forward on Hermione's parentage but we're laying the Dramione groundwork here people, it takes time!


	8. Chapter 8

_Recap of Chapter Seven_

 _He stared at her thighs for several seconds, not really believing what he saw. Despite the blood – both dried and fresh – he could clearly see the words carved into her white thighs. On the inside of her right thigh was MUDBLOOD; on the inside of her left was WHORE._

 _Draco barely made it to the loo in time before he emptied his stomach. Hermione lay on her bed wishing she were dead._

A/N: shout-outs to riaroo400, BadWolfJiggy and pgoodrichboggs for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! You all get a big hug from me – I'm fully aware that you'd rather have Draco, but I'm not letting him out to play. Reviews are as satisfying as discovering a new Dramione author to follow (seriously, I follow a LOT of writers on ff).

Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which one is which.

Chapter Eight

Draco put his toothbrush down and stared at himself in the mirror, loathing what he saw. That word, that evil fucking word that he'd called her for years was now carved into her body. TWICE. He'd watched his insane aunt slice up her arm but who the hell had done _this_ to her? He knew she'd been raped, the nightmare on their first night back made sense now, Hermione had been reliving the whole trauma right down to her physical position on her back. Draco swallowed hard to avoid retching, there was nothing left to come up. _I'm almost as bad as whoever the bastard was that did this to her! I called her mudblood, I thought she was beneath me and shouldn't have been allowed into Hogwarts. He thought the damn same, obviously! Oh Merlin, do I know him…?_

Silent tears coursed down the sides of her face as Hermione remained lying on her back, waiting for Draco to return. She knew she was repulsive, she had made him throw up for fuck's sake! She fumbled for her wand and used it to close and lock the bathroom door, there was no sense in disgusting him anymore, and she could clean herself up, just as she had been doing for the past four months. She should never have let him see this, this…. _mess_. Moving her legs slowly down to the floor she sat on the side of the bed and began to gently wipe her skin.

Draco's mental tirade of self-hatred was disturbed by the sound of the door closing. Quickly rubbing his sleeve over his eyes he walked over to try the handle and found it locked. Oh no, she wasn't going to shut him out now! It opened in seconds with a quick _alohomora_. This in itself was an indicator of the state she was in, a fully functioning Hermione Granger would have been able to keep the hordes of Ghengis Khan out if she wanted to.

'Granger, lie back down for Merlin's sake!' He barked at her without meaning to and she froze in fear. 'Shit. I didn't mean to shout, I'm sorry. Please lie back down and let me clean you up,' he said more gently.

'No,' she whispered. 'Just get out! I'm so revolting that I literally made you sick. I've always been a mudblood to you, and now you can see that I'm a used mudblood whore. Dirty, foul, disgusting –' he cut off her sobs by sitting down beside her and tentatively taking her hand.

'I'm so sorry Granger, for everything. I'm sorry for calling you that godawful name for years and taunting you about your parentage. I'm sorry for reacting like I did just now – please know that it's not you I find repulsive, it's really not. It's what's been done to you that makes me feel sick. That someone could hurt you like this…,' he broke off, his jaw clenching as he tried to swallow down his rising ire. Draco breathed deeply for a moment.

'Please Granger, I said I would help and I will. Just give me a chance,' he let go of her hand and stood to see what she would do.

Slowly Hermione started to swing her legs back up onto the towel. She winced as Draco took hold of her calves to help, but he maintained eye contact and kept speaking to her in a low voice, telling her at each step what he was doing as he tenderly cleaned and redressed her wounds. Oddly, his voice soothed her. When he had finished he removed the now bloody cloth, towel and bowl of scarlet water while she got ready for Potions. There was no time for a shower so Hermione made do with splashing cold water on her face, brushing her teeth and pulling her hair into a haphazard bun.

'Here, drink this,' Draco handed her a glass of cranberry juice as she came into the common room then put his hand on the small of her back and steered her to the door. Hermione didn't bother to hide her surprise at the gesture. She looked around for her school bag and realised he had already slung it over his shoulder with his own.

'I can carry my own bag you know.'

'I know,' he smiled.

After a morning of double Potions then Arithmancy together they separated in the great hall to eat at their respective house tables. Draco told himself he was glad of the chance for some peace and quiet before double DADA with her in the afternoon. Somewhat annoyingly, they shared the same timetable apart from where Granger had History of Magic he was stuck taking Muggle Studies at the Ministry's behest. After a moment of internal grumbling his mind went back to the question that had been consuming him all morning – _WHO_? Who did this to Granger? What kind of sick cunt would do this to a woman? There was a very real possibility that it was someone he knew, it seemed like something a Death Eater would do, but then most of them were locked up in Azkaban now. His father was the only one he knew that had been let off with house arrest, they had taken his wand too. At least that ruled Lucius out, thank fuck, although he couldn't see even his father stooping to that level. When did it happen? The cuts looked fresh so it could only have been days ago. Merlin, the poor girl, she must be a mess. Should he question her? Maybe she wanted to talk about it, it was clear that nobody else knew. Could he stand to listen though? His performance this morning spoke for itself. His churning thoughts were interrupted by his fellow 8th year, Blaise, sitting down opposite him. Draco looked up, wondering which way the conversation was going to go.

'Malfoy,' Blaise nodded.

'Zabini,' Draco acknowledged cautiously.

'You're not in the Slytherin dorms this year, I see.'

'Ten points to Slytherin for observation,' Draco rolled his eyes. Seeing the look on Blaise's face he sighed. 'No, I'm staying elsewhere in the castle. McGonagall deemed it _prudent_.'

'I can see her point,' Blaise remarked. 'Half the house hates you for not being a good enough Death Eater and the other half hate you for being too much of one, you're in a lose-lose situation.'

'Am I really? I hadn't noticed,' Draco replied dryly. Blaise grinned and slowly they started to converse. It was nothing more than small talk, but it was a start.

Hermione tucked into her cheese toasties with gusto, she was ravenous after missing both breakfast and dinner the night before. She pulled a tattered novel out of her bag, she needed something cosy and familiar to occupy her mind that had nothing to do with war, evil men, or dead parents. Within moments she was immersed in the world of Narnia and failed to notice Luna wandering over from the Ravenclaw table.

'Hello Hermione,' she spoke in her soft, dreamy voice.

'Hi Luna, how are you finding being back?' Hermione smiled across the table at her.

'It's a little strange being back in the castle but I like it. I miss Daddy though. You must miss your parents too, Hermione,' Luna said quietly as Hermione nodded. The blonde girl looked at her for a long moment.

'You have nice hair, but it'll be nicer when it turns pink. See you later Hermione,' and she left with a wave. _Okay that was weird, even for Luna. Oooh, apple and rhubarb crumble, yummy!_ And with that she helped herself to pudding, picked up her book and forgot about Luna's odd remark.

A/N: the cogs are turning in Draco's brain and Luna's ESP is switched on! I haven't quite decided what's coming up in the next chapter, I'm still arguing with Draco and Hermione about it. He wants to talk to Lucius while she wants to visit the library…hmmm, perhaps I could combine the two and keep them both happy?


	9. Chapter 9

_Recap of Chapter Eight_

' _Hi Luna, how are you finding being back?' Hermione smiled across the table at her._

' _It's a little strange being back in the castle but I like it. I miss Daddy though. You must miss your parents too, Hermione,' Luna said quietly as Hermione nodded. The blonde girl looked at her for a long moment._

' _You have nice hair, but it'll be nicer when it turns pink. See you later Hermione,' and she left with a wave._ Okay that was weird, even for Luna. Oooh, apple and rhubarb crumble, yummy! _And with that she helped herself to pudding, picked up her book and forgot about Luna's odd remark._

A/N: shout-outs to riaroo400, rachelll11, justlikeCanada, pgoodrichboggs and IGOTEAMEDWARD for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! I feel like we should form a little posse or something. No, perhaps not a posse, I think only teenagers have them (of which I am most certainly not one). How about a not-so-secret society? Who's going to volunteer to make the pin badges á la S.P.E.W. style? Reviews are as satisfying as perfecting the winged eyeliner look. I would imagine.

Now I know many of you have been asking about the attacker and I honestly hadn't planned to reveal it this early on in the story but I've decided to listen to you and put you all out of your misery, so read on!

Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which one is which.

Chapter Nine

That evening Draco decided to not-so-casually amble downstairs when he heard Granger moving about in the common room. His brain was buzzing with all the new information about her and he was hoping for some answers.

'Hi, I was just about to make some tea. Would you like some?' _There, that's a plausible excuse, she won't notice anything's up._ Hermione looked at him oddly. Seriously, what was with this new guy who wore Malfoy's face? He was nice and it was disconcerting. She felt awkward, not to mention her mortification after this morning. It had subsided a little after sharing classes with him all day but was returning in earnest now that they were alone again.

'Um, yes. I'll have some chamomile tea, thank you,' she replied, following him to the kitchenette and sitting down. What was she supposed to do now, try and make conversation? 'Thanks for copying your charms notes yesterday, you saved me a trip to Flitwick's office,' she said.

'No problem, _replicare_ is an easy spell,' he brushed it off and brought the teapot and mugs over to the table. 'How are your legs doing? Do you need help changing the dressings?' _Shit. What made me say that? I don't want to go through that again, ever._

'No, I can manage perfectly well on my own,' she replied firmly, cheeks blazing. 'But thanks for the offer,' she added hastily, realising that she sounded rude after he had actually been quite kind that morning. 'They're not usually that bad, it's only because I didn't change them before falling asleep last night,' she mumbled.

'I think you mispronounced 'passed out',' he quipped. Hermione's mouth twitched in response and she covered it quickly by leaning over to stir the contents of the teapot.

'Hmmmm, I think it still needs another couple of minutes to steep. I saw you talking to Zabini earlier,' she remarked casually, trying to steer the conversation away from herself.

'Yes,' Draco rolled his eyes at her unsubtle attempt at distraction. He knew what she was doing and he was having none of it. 'What do you mean your legs aren't 'usually' that bad? The wounds looked fresh to me, when did it happen?' Hermione looked down at her empty mug and tried to think quickly. Was there any point in lying? Malfoy had already promised to keep quiet about it. She didn't want to talk about the attack but telling him this much didn't seem so bad.

'During the battle. And no, I don't want to talk about it,' she responded, avoiding looking at him. Draco leaned back in disbelief – what the hell? There's no way that could be true, the cuts couldn't still be bleeding that profusely after four months. Not unless….

'Let me see your arm,' it wasn't exactly a command, but it was obvious he wasn't going to accept no for an answer. Slowly Hermione pushed her jumper up her arm and rolled her shirt sleeve up. The word MUDBLOOD was clearly visible in puckered pink scars. 'The wounds have closed,' he observed. 'Bella cut you with a cursed blade and the wounds have still healed – not well, but they're a hundred times better than your legs. What spell could be worse than Bella's?' He murmured the last part to himself then reached his finger out to trace the letters but pulled it back. _Like she'll want the nephew of the crazy bitch who did this to her touching her! Gods, why didn't I do something to stop it, how could I just stand there? I'm a pathetic coward._ He shuddered inwardly with revulsion.

'You couldn't have stopped her you know,' Hermione said quietly, accurately reading his mind. She looked straight at him this time. 'She would have killed you.'

'I should have tried,' he said bitterly. 'I should have tried!' He raised his voice, hating himself in that moment. Hermione didn't reply. She pulled her shirt and jumper sleeves back down, covering up the offending skin. She knew she was correct in her assessment – if Malfoy had made any move against Bellatrix she would have killed him and carried on torturing her. If Dobby hadn't arrived when he did, she would undoubtedly have died that day. _Dobby …. Wait a minute!_ Her head snapped up suddenly.

'Did you call him?' She asked sharply.

'Who?' He played dumb.

'You know exactly who I'm talking about. Dobby. He was your old house elf and he showed up very fortuitously.'

'Don't be ridiculous, Potter tricked my father into freeing him, remember?' Draco evaded her gaze and chose that moment to pour the tea, taking great care with the strainer so as not to get any flower buds in either of their mugs. He opened his mouth to ask about the blade that was used on her during the battle, clearly some kind of dark magic had been used to prevent healing.

'I think you did,' she challenged him before he could get a word out. 'I think you were able to call him non-verbally, even though he no longer belonged to the Malfoy family there was still some kind of loyalty on his part. House elf magic is very old and works differently to ours,' she said slowly, remembering snippets she had read on house elf lore. Draco's lips were pressed together in a firm line and he shook his head determinedly.

'You're trying to get out of talking about the bastard that attacked you and I'm not going to let you. Those injuries aren't going to heal unless you can find a counter-curse for the dark magic used. Now tell me, who did this to you?' His voice had softened but inside his thoughts were racing. His palms started to sweat as he realised that with the timeline Lucius was now firmly back in the frame. _No, no, no! He couldn't have, he wouldn't! Please gods, don't let her say his name!_

Hermione's mouth went dry. She sipped her tea and tried compose herself. 'He used his wand to do it, not a knife. I heard him say a spell first but I couldn't make out the words,' she whispered. She could feel the start of a lump in her throat and closed her eyes, making an effort to breathe in deeply through her nose and exhale slowly through her mouth.

'Who was it, Granger? Tell me who,' he said urgently, leaning forward towards her.

'Zacharias Smith,' she choked out, the tears finally taking over. Before he realised what he was doing Draco had moved to the chair beside her. He hesitantly moved his arms to lightly encircle her and to his surprise she leaned straight into his chest, her hands clutching onto his shirt for dear life as she wept. Draco struggled to make sense of the words as he tightened his hold. Zacharias Smith?! But he was in their little club in fifth year, he remembered seeing the name on Granger's cleverly enchanted list. He was a fucking Hufflepuff, a do-gooder, an annoying twat but he never would have pinned him as a rapist. What the hell happened to him? His shoulders sagged with relief that it hadn't been his father, he honestly didn't know what he would have done if that had been the case.

He felt distinctly awkward embracing Granger. He was Draco Malfoy, he didn't _do_ hugging and certainly not with a mud- mugg- oh what she hell was she called now? Nevertheless, they sat like that till long after the tea had cooled; her weeping quietly, him stroking her hair with one hand and holding her securely in his arms. Draco's thoughts were tumbling over each other to be heard, but not one of them related to feeling disgusted at having Granger's snot and tears on his clothes.

A/N: well, what do you make of that then? Kudos to riaroo400 for guessing it was Zacharias! So they didn't make it to Malfoy Manor this chapter, but they might do in the next, or the one after that, I'm not sure yet.


	10. Chapter 10

_Recap of Chapter Nine_

' _Who was it, Granger? Tell me who,' he said urgently, leaning forward towards her._

' _Zacharias Smith,' she choked out, the tears finally taking over. Before he realised what he was doing Draco had moved to the chair beside her. He hesitantly moved his arms to lightly encircle her and to his surprise she leaned straight into his chest, her hands clutching onto his shirt for dear life as she wept. Draco struggled to make sense of the words as he tightened his hold. Zacharias Smith?! But he was in their little club in fifth year, he remembered seeing the name on Granger's cleverly enchanted list. He was a fucking Hufflepuff, a do-gooder, an annoying twat but he never would have pinned him as a rapist. What the hell happened to him? His shoulders sagged with relief that it hadn't been his father, he honestly didn't know what he would have done if that had been the case._

 _He felt distinctly awkward embracing Granger. He was Draco Malfoy, he didn't do hugging and certainly not with mud- mugg – oh what she hell was she called now? Nevertheless, they sat like that till long after the tea had cooled; her weeping quietly, him stroking her hair with one hand and holding her securely in his arms. Draco's thoughts were tumbling over each other to be heard, but not one of them related to feeling disgusted at having Granger's snot and tears on his clothes._

A/N: no shout-outs for this chapter because I'm writing it hot on the heels of the last one, which I only finished a couple of hours ago! I tried to go to sleep but Draco and Hermione just wouldn't leave me alone so here I am at 5.30am giving in to them.

Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which one is which.

Chapter Ten

Thursday morning dawned clear and bright, a perfect September day. Hermione woke up naturally for the first time in months, she had slept right through without any nightmares, possibly because she was emotionally spent after crying her eyes out on Malfoy's shoulder the previous evening. Or perhaps there had been a kind of catharsis in sharing some of her story with him; either way, Hermione was grateful for the rest and made her way to the shower feeling better than she had in a long while.

Draco was watching the sun creep across the walls of his room when he heard the shower turn on. He gave up on trying to sleep and instead decided to head out of the castle for an early morning walk. The fresh air felt good and his head started to clear. Something was off about Granger's story and it had been bugging him all night, but he just couldn't quite put his finger on it. Eventually he came to the Great Lake and settled down to skim pebbles across the surface. Had Hermione been there she would have been rather irritated because it was a skill she had never managed to acquire (and it couldn't be learned from a book, annoyingly).

It came to him with the fourth stone – there was simply no way Zacharias could have known a spell dark enough to cause those wounds. Draco couldn't, and didn't, believe it. Yes, he was from a pureblood family, but they weren't supporters of the Dark Lord as far as he knew, quite the opposite in fact. Hell, they weren't even in the Sacred Twenty-Eight, which meant they wouldn't have access to the kind of texts that held such spells. Although it's possible that Smith picked up something in Knockturn Alley he thought, or even in the Restricted Section of the library. But why would he have chosen the word 'mudblood' when he wasn't from a family that espoused those ideals? It didn't add up.

Ten minutes later Draco had decided two things. He needed to find out what spell had been used, and he needed to speak to his godfather Severus about a cure. If he couldn't find the counter-curse to the spell then perhaps he could find a potion to heal Granger's cuts. Draco had helped apply the dittany ointment the day before and it clearly wasn't helping much. If even dittany wasn't working then he was at a loss and Severus was the only person he could think of who might be able to help. He wasn't sure why he cared about doing this, but reasoned to himself that he would do it for any girl. No one deserved what had happened to Granger and as he was now essentially living with her it was in his own best interests to try and fix her.

After getting ready as quickly as possible Draco knocked on Granger's door, hoping that she hadn't gone down to breakfast yet.

'Just give me a minute! In fact make it two, I'll see you in the common room,' Hermione called out. It didn't take a genius to work out what she was probably doing and Draco figured she would be a few more minutes sorting out the clean dressings so he went down to make coffee. Hermione walked into the kitchenette to find both cranberry juice and fresh coffee waiting. _Did he get Maisy up here for that? Still, he's being thoughtful in his own kind of way I suppose._ 'Oh my, this is really good coffee,' she said appreciatively after her first sip.

'Yes it is, even if I do say so myself. One of my many talents,' Malfoy smirked at her.

'You made it yourself?' Hermione squeaked in disbelief. He frowned in displeasure.

'Yes. I can do some things for myself Granger, such as wipe my own arse, get dressed, make coffee and so on,' he snapped.

'And he's back. There's the snarky Malfoy we've all come to know and hate,' she grinned at him to show she was joking. He rolled his eyes in response.

'Anyway, if you've _quite finished_ insulting me, I need to ask you a couple of things,' Draco ignored the way she tensed up and carried on. 'I need to know what spell Smith used, for a couple of reasons, and I need your permission to speak to Snape's portrait about this.' Hermione looked aghast at this.

'You want to _what_? Why would you want to speak to Snape? Anything you say to him will be overheard by every other portrait in the room, and they will no doubt report back to McGonagall at the earliest opportunity. That's even assuming she agrees to leave for you to talk to him in private in the first place!' Had he gone quite mad, she wondered? Draco took a deep breath and tried again.

'I think he might be able to advise us on a potion to help heal the cuts. Unless you'd rather go and see Pomfrey about it?' He knew he had her there. Telling a portrait was one thing, but telling the school matron was quite another. Granger sighed into her coffee. Her delicious coffee. Was this his way of buttering her up so she would agree?

'Would you be able to keep my name out of it?' She asked.

'Yes, he doesn't need to know all the details. I'll say I'm asking for a friend,' he offered. Hermione raised her eyebrows at this. _Crap. Why did I go and say that?_

'A friend? Is that what I am now?' She found she really wanted to know the answer.

'Yes, I think so, if that's alright with you. We've had a pretty intense couple of days together,' he replied uncertainly. Hermione gave a small smile and nodded her head in agreement. It was a strange sensation to feel pleased at being friends with the ferret.

'You know that people always think you're talking about yourself when you say it's for a friend,' she teased, trying to lighten the mood.

'I know,' Malfoy laughed wryly. 'It doesn't really matter though, Severus won't say anything if I ask him not to. Now, going back to the spell. We really need to find out what it was. If a healing potion won't work then a counter-curse will be the only chance of stopping the bleeding,' he explained.

'I know,' she agreed sadly. 'But I couldn't make out the words, he said them so quietly.' Hermione stood up with their now empty mugs. 'Hang on, what do you mean a _couple_ of reasons? What's the other reason you need to know about the spell?' Hermione questioned.

'Well… I'm not sure that it could have been Smith. I think it's possible that it may have been someone using polyjuice, or perhaps he was under the _imperius_ , but either way, I think someone else was behind this. Think about it, the curse used on you was stronger than the one on Bella's knife – does that really strike you as the kind of knowledge Smith would have?'

The mugs fell and smashed on the floor.

A/N: I know, I'm a bitch. So sue me! Actually don't, my only asset is my stash of chocolate digestives and I'm not giving them up without a fight.


	11. Chapter 11

_Recap of Chapter Ten_

' _Well…. I'm not sure that it could have been Smith. I think it's possible that it may have been someone using polyjuice, or perhaps he was under the imperius, but either way, I think someone else was behind this. Think about it, the curse used on you was stronger than the one on Bella's knife – does that really strike you as the kind of knowledge Smith would have?'_

 _The mugs fell and smashed on the floor._

A/N: shout-outs to IGOTEAMEDWARD, pgoodrichboggs, Lena2244, riaroo400 (btw, how can you not like chocolate digestives?!), and rachelll11 for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! Reviews are as satisfying as unexpectedly finding money wedged down the side of the sofa. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which is which.

Chapter Eleven

Hermione managed to lose herself in Professor Babbling's lecture in Ancient Runes that morning but struggled to maintain her focus in History of Magic. Professor Binns' voice was monotonous and hard to concentrate on. Her mind drifted to the problem of the spell; she was careful to think only about that specific moment of the attack and nothing else. Again and again she saw his lips move in her mind's eye and heard the low mutter of his voice, but she simply couldn't make anything out. Hermione pondered for a while before coming up with a couple of possible solutions, one of which seemed out of the question and the other made her stomach turn. She needed to speak to Draco but would have to wait until after lunch when they had double Transfiguration. Despite the professors' attempts at encouraging inter-house mingling it was still unthought of to sit at another house table during meals.

Draco ate a quick lunch while keeping up a desultory conversation with Blaise on the upcoming quidditch team try-outs. Blaise was intending to go for a chaser position again but Draco had reservations about trying-out for seeker, he doubted he would be welcome on the team. When he saw the headmistress leave the High Table he excused himself and went after her. Across the room a pair of amber eyes followed him.

'Excuse me, Headmistress,' Draco called out as he started up the main staircase behind her.

'What can I do for you Mr Malfoy,' McGonagall asked. 'I hope there has been no trouble between Miss Granger and yourself,' she said sternly.

'No, no, nothing like that,' he reassured her. Minerva was pleasantly surprised to hear this and relaxed her severe countenance a little. 'Actually, I was wondering if it might be possible to speak with my godfather's portrait in your office,' he was careful to keep his tone respectful, he needed her to agree to this.

'Ah yes, Severus. Of course Mr Malfoy, I know you were close and you must miss him. As do I. You may have a few minutes now if you wish, I need to go to my classroom to prepare for this afternoon's lesson. You remember the password?' Draco nodded. 'Very well then. Don't be late for class,' she shouted after him as he ran up the rest of the steps and disappeared around a corner.

Draco stood in front of Snape's portrait and looked up at the familiar face. 'Hello young Draco, I presume this isn't a social visit. What can I do for you?' Snape drawled. Given the limited time available Draco didn't deny this and cut straight to the chase.

'I need advice on how to close cursed wounds. They're similar to those made by Bella's knife, but worse. They're still bleeding after four months. I was hoping you might know of a potion that could help. It's not for me, it's for a friend. I'd rather not say who, and I don't want you to say anything to anybody,' Draco added hastily. He risked a glance at the other portraits but their occupants all appeared to be absent or asleep. Dumbledore gave a soft snore.

'I see,' Snape allowed a long pause before continuing. He wondered what was going on and resolved to consult with the other portraits afterwards. 'Who does the blade in question belong to? That might give you an indication of the dark magic used. A counter-spell is a far more effective solution than a potion my boy.' Draco missed Snape's lack of agreement to secrecy.

'It wasn't a knife that was used, it was a wand. I'm afraid I can't say whose and I don't know what spell was used, hence my coming to you. This friend really needs help as soon as possible!' He said slightly desperately. If his godfather only knew how Herm- Granger was suffering he would know how serious the situation was. He disregarded his mental slip with Granger's name and fixed his gaze on the portrait. Snape looked into the distance for a moment.

'If it was _sectumsempra_ then I can give you the incantation to heal the wounds easily enough. Your friend, much like yourself, will likely be left with scars even if dittany is applied afterwards. Say the words _vulnera sanentur_ three times while tracing your wand over the wounds.' Draco nodded in gratitude but Snape raised his hand to pre-empt his thanks.

'If, however, another curse was used then it might be feasible to heal – or at least close – the cuts with a potion created by Isolt Sayre. It is centuries old and not much is known about it but it's possible you may be able to find something on it in the library. Perhaps in the restricted section,' he added as an afterthought. 'Although Isolt herself was not interested in the Dark Arts, on the contrary, she was a goodhearted witch who went on to found Ilvermorny, she was descended from both Salazar himself and the goddess Morrigan. Thus information on her may not be easily accessible. Perhaps your family library may yield more fruit,' Snape added slyly.

Draco thanked his godfather then raced off to Transfiguration, sliding through the door gasping just as the class was about to start. Hermione gave him a questioning look as he took the empty seat her and got his breath back.

Dumbledore nodded approvingly at Snape, 'let us hope he takes your advice and visits the Malfoy library. He and Miss Granger must find the books that you left there for her.' His face turned grave. 'Who do you think has been hurt, Severus?'

'That I cannot answer, Albus, but I would very much like to know,' the wizard replied sombrely.

Digging a spare piece of parchment out of his bag Draco scrawled a note: _could it have been sectumsempra?_ He slid it across the desk to Hermione, who took a moment to consider before replying: _I'm not completely sure, but I don't believe so. I think he said more words than that._

 _Dammit. I hoped that was it – Severus gave me the counter-spell for it. It wouldn't hurt to still try it?_ She gave a subtle nod in his direction, worried that McGonagall would catch on to the note passing. Draco must have taken the hint because he didn't write anything further. He stopped her in the corridor after class.

'Do you want to try it now, before dinner?' It concerned him how much pain she must be in. Now that he was paying attention he could see that she walked a little slower than everyone else, and he had noticed her shifting in her seat several times during class, as if she was uncomfortable.

'Do you mind if we wait till tonight? I'd like to have a bath first, so that you don't see me looking like I did yesterday,' Hermione was dying inside from embarrassment and her cheeks reddened further. Quickly changing the subject she said 'I thought I might go to the library now and have a look for anything on dryads.'

'Good idea, I'll walk with you. There's something I need to look up as well,' Draco replied. He took her bag from her and swung it easily onto his shoulder then placed his other hand lightly on the small of her back as they made their way downstairs. He was planning to look up both Isolt Sayre and healing potions. If he drew a blank then he was going to need to come up with a plan to get a pass to the Restricted Section and he didn't fancy his chances much. What teacher would give an ex-Death Eater a pass to go and rummage through books on dark magic and all manner of other unsavoury things?

Neville watched them silently, wondering just why Hermione seemed to be friendly with Malfoy all of a sudden. He decided to ask Ginny about it later.

Hours later Hermione lay soaking in a hot bath while trying to relax. The water felt good and she enjoyed the pleasing scent of sweet clover and honey. She was anxious about Malfoy seeing her legs again and the more she thought about it the more certain she was that the spell Smith used was longer than _sectumsempra,_ but she agreed with Malfoy that it was worth a try anyway. Finally she got out and went to get dried off and dressed in her room. Although it was a bit of a pain she took the time to put one of the ugly minimiser bras on under her flannelette pyjama top – no chance of him seeing anything through that she thought. She carefully selected some of her prettier knickers made of midnight blue satin in case he were to see a brief flash. Immediately she flushed with embarrassment, what was she thinking? She didn't want _anyone_ to see her knickers, least of all Malfoy! She was about to change them for something more sensible when she heard him knock on the door.

Hermione opened the door to let him in and went to sit on the edge of her bed, this time she was prepared and already had a towel down. Blood was starting to drip and she resorted to her slow breathing technique to calm her anxiety. Draco knelt down by the bed and asked her to angle her right thigh towards him, she did so and placed her hand between her legs to hide her knickers.

'Okay, let's hope this works,' he said before slowly chanting the incantation _vulnera sanentur_ as he moved his wand over the cuts. The blood flow seemed to ease a little so he repeated the phrase three more times but there was no further improvement.

Seeing his face fall, Hermione spoke quietly, 'it's helped a bit. Look, the bleeding has slowed down.'

'I'd hoped for a lot more than that,' Draco shook his head ruefully. Then without asking he reached for the pink washbag and took out ointment and clean dressings. He quietly fixed up her leg before moving on to do the whole process again with the other one. He didn't feel sick at all and she found his gentle ministrations calming. Ten minutes later they were sitting by the fire sipping chamomile tea.

'Did Snape say anything else?' Hermione asked.

'Yes. He said the most important thing was to find out the spell, but failing that he thinks there's an ancient healing potion which could help. The thing is, he didn't know much about it, and apparently no one else does either. The original brewer was Isolt Sayre – ' he was interrupted by Hermione.

'She founded Ilvermorny in America! I've read about her,' she cried excitedly. 'I don't remember anything about potions being mentioned though,' her brow furrowed as she thought hard.

'That's what I was looking for in the library this afternoon,' Draco explained. 'I found several books on Ilvermorny and one on Isolt's life but no reference to any potion. I think we need to concentrate on the spell, but I'm not sure how to go about it. It's possible that there might be something in one of the books on the Dark Arts in the Restricted Section in the library, or….' he tailed off, not sure how to word his next suggestion. Hermione looked at him expectantly. 'Or, there might be more information in my family library,' he said cautiously, unsure of her reaction.

Hermione was silent for a while, sipping her tea. 'McGonagall proposed I visit your library actually, she said it might have more information on dryads than the one here. After looking this afternoon I fear she may be right,' she sighed. 'There's another way to find out which spell he used, two actually, although one of them is almost certainly impossible,' she remarked slowly.

'Go on,' Draco encouraged her, wondering why she seemed reluctant.

'The first method is to try hypnosis, it's a muggle technique where a therapist takes you into a state of deep relaxation and asks you questions which can result in hidden memories resurfacing,' Hermione explained. 'But for obvious reasons I can't go to a muggle practitioner and I don't think anyone knows how to do it in the magical world.'

'No,' Draco agreed. 'If we want to access a memory we remove it then look at it through a – ,' he stopped in sudden understanding. _That's why she didn't want to say it, the only way to find out is to use a pensieve. Shit._

'A pensieve. Exactly. I relive it in my nightmares and they feel more than real enough. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to view the actual memory in all its gory detail,' she whispered, ashamed of being weak.

'I don't want you to put yourself through that, Gra- Hermione. You've been through more than enough, more than most people could handle. I'll do it,' he said with finality. She looked into his eyes and saw his resolve. There was something else there too, was that concern? Was he concerned about her? Enough to want to protect her? She didn't know what to say so she remained silent, choosing instead to rise from the sofa and walk to his armchair, where she sat down on the floor and leaned back against his legs. Without thinking Draco reached down and started to stroke her hair.

A/N: Hmmm, what's Snape left in the Malfoy library I wonder? And what's Ginny going to say about Hermione and Draco? I think it's about time that she finds out they're living together, don't you?


	12. Chapter 12

_Recap of Chapter Eleven_

' _A pensieve. Exactly. I relive it in my nightmares most nights and they feel more than real enough. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to view the actual memory in all its gory detail,' she whispered, ashamed of being weak._

' _I don't want you to put yourself through that, Gra- Hermione. You've been through more than enough, more than most people could handle. I'll do it,' he said with finality. She looked into his eyes and saw his resolve. There was something else there too, was that concern? Was he concerned about her? Enough to want to protect her? She didn't know what to say so she remained silent, choosing instead to rise from the sofa and walk to his armchair, where she sat down on the floor and leaned back against his legs. Without thinking Draco reached down and started to stroke her hair._

A/N: shout-outs to IGOTEAMEDWARD, pgoodrichboggs, Lena2244, riaroo400, and rachelll11 for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! Reviews are as satisfying as drinking hot chocolate in your cosy living room while watching The Snowman when it's snowing outside. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which is which.

Chapter Twelve

After watching his fingers threading through Hermione's hair and the way the curls shone in the firelight for several minutes Draco leant his head back and shut his eyes. What had he just done? Was he brave enough to do this for her when all he wanted to do was be a coward and take it back? The thought of watching that bastard rape her filled him with horror and fury; could he really stomach it? Could he stop himself going after Smith afterwards, if it was even him in the first place? He certainly didn't want to do it, but the alternative – Hermione using the pensieve herself – was even more abhorrent to him. Gods above, what was happening to him? Somehow that day at the manor changed things. Something broke inside him and now he found that he didn't want to fix it, he didn't want to go back to despising her for being a muggle-born and Potter's best friend. He felt protective of her. Merlin, he _felt something_ for someone other than his parents and he didn't know how to cope with the new, uncomfortable sensation.

Draco pulled himself up short. Hermione wasn't a muggle-born, never had been as it turned out. Would it matter to him if she still was? Would he still care about her wellbeing? Carefully he probed his thoughts… _I cared enough to call Dobby when I believed her to be muggle-born…_

He felt Hermione move and he pulled his hand back to watch her turn around and kneel in front of him. She surprised herself when she lightly placed her hands on his but brushed it aside to concentrate on what she had to say. He resolutely kept his gaze on her face and tried not to look at her exposed collar bone. He could imagine running his tongue along it then berated himself for thinking like that with everything that she'd been through.

'I don't want you to see my memory,' Hermione whispered. She quickly continued before he could interject. 'I'm not ashamed because of what he did to me, I know I didn't do anything wrong, but I would feel ashamed for you to see me like that. You wouldn't be able to look at me the same way afterwards and we're only just starting to be friends, I don't want _him_ to ruin that. I couldn't bear it, Draco. Please, let me go on,' she pleaded when Malfoy opened his mouth to argue. 'I have another idea. I don't like it, but I can't see another alternative.'

Her use of his first name did something to his insides. He turned his hands palm up to gently clasp hers. 'I have a feeling that I'm not going to want to agree to this,' Draco said warily. Hermione took a deep breath and looked straight at him.

'I think it might be easier if it's not a friend, or at least not a friend of mine,' she qualified. He raised an eyebrow at this. 'I think I could cope with it better. Someone who doesn't like me won't look at me in pity afterwards, they won't badger me to go the aurors and they certainly won't offer themselves as a shoulder to cry on.'

'You have someone in mind,' Draco stated.

'I do. Zabini.' He was stunned, what the fuck was she thinking?

'Do you trust him?' Hermione asked.

'Slytherins don't trust each other,' he answered automatically. He considered it for a moment. 'I don't think he'd tell anyone however, Blaise isn't one for gossip and there's no one he's really close with. It would be social suicide in this new, post-war world. But I hate the idea,' he said heavily.

'Think about it, a Slytherin is the best choice, a member of any other house would drown me in sympathy and I couldn't stand it. What's the very worst he could do? Try to blackmail me with it? That wouldn't work because if I really had no other choice I would go to Harry and the aurors. I'll do everything I can to avoid that, because I don't want Harry or any of them to know, but if push came to shove I could do it. Zabini wouldn't have any hold over me,' and although her voice shook, Draco could hear the resolve in it. He sighed.

'Let's sleep on it and if you still feel the same way in the morning I could ask him here to talk about it,' he proposed. Hermione nodded in assent and headed to bed with a brief goodnight. She was tired of thinking about everything and wanted to lose herself in the pages of _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ before trying to sleep. Hopefully she could avoid the nightmares for a third night in a row, although her hopes weren't high on that front.

 _Why doesn't she want him caught and put in Azkaban? And why hasn't she told Potter or Weasley, what kind of friendship do they have if she won't trust them with this, or is it really that she doesn't want them to know such a horrific thing happened to her?_ Draco sat there contemplating for a long time before falling asleep in front of the fire.

* * *

Meanwhile in a room at the other end of the castle the headmistress was listening gravely to Snape's account of Draco's earlier visit. He and Dumbledore had decided that a student's safety took precedence over their request for secrecy and decided to bring Minerva into their confidence.

'Four months dates the injury to around the time of the battle. The wounded were treated by Poppy or sent to St Mungo's, who could we have missed?' Minerva's voice rose in distress.

'Or rather, who did Draco find? Who is he close enough to that he found out they needed help? I cannot believe it to be Lucius or Narcissa; I believe they were examined by a ministry healer before their interrogation,' Snape spoke ponderously. Dumbledore frowned.

'Surely it couldn't be…' he murmured to himself. McGonagall looked at him sharply.

'Hermione Granger? No, we would have known,' she said dismissively.

'Who else has he spent time with since coming back to Hogwarts? Was Miss Granger seen at St Mungo's after the battle?' Snape drawled.

Minerva faltered, 'I'm not altogether sure Severus, on both counts. But if it is her that's hurt, why would she have kept it a secret? Why not seek treatment straight away?' No one had an answer to this. 'I shall have to speak to her, if she has been hurt then I cannot allow her to go on without treatment,' she decided.

'I'm not sure it will be that easy Minerva,' Snape replied. 'It's clear that a very dark spell indeed was used and I think it unlikely that any healer will know of a counter-curse, although they may be able to make her more comfortable,' he added.

'Do you think it possible that her dryad magic could make a difference, Severus?' Dumbledore looked thoughtful as Snape paused to consider this.

'It's possible, I don't know. One of the books I left at the manor may be able to tell us. If your theory is correct then she would be able to heal herself in a fortnight, on the day of her birthday.'

'All of this is mere conjecture, I must speak to the girl first to establish if she is the one hurt or not. It's too late this evening but I will speak with her directly after breakfast tomorrow. Now it's been a very long day so I will bid you good evening gentlemen,' Minerva rose to leave and with that the conversation was closed.

* * *

Draco was woken by screams just after 5am and sprinted from the fireside up to Hermione's room. It faintly registered that he felt a shimmer of wards but was able to pass right through. This time he went straight to her bed and sat beside her while urging her to wake up. She was lying differently to last time, curled up in a foetal position with her scarred arm held out to the side. She cried out, 'it's a copy, it's a copy! Stop!'

Draco knew she was reliving her torture at the hands of Bellatrix. He took hold of her upper arms and rubbed them lightly while reassuring her, 'it's not real Hermione, please wake up. I'm here with you, I'll keep you safe.' He was barely aware of what he said as he tried desperately to wake her. When Hermione's eyes opened Draco watched the fear fade from them and slowly moved to take her in his arms, giving her plenty of opportunity to move away or stop him if she felt uncomfortable. Instead she leaned into him and rested her hands on his chest, concentrating on his heartbeat as the nightmare receded. After a few minutes Hermione pulled back and said she would go and make coffee, 'though it may not be up to your high standards,' she said with a watery smile.

Malfoy sought Zabini out at breakfast a couple of hours later. 'I need to speak with you about a confidential matter, would you be able to come to my rooms after classes finish?'

If Blaise was taken aback he didn't show it. 'Are you sure you can tear yourself away from the Gryffindor princess for long enough?' He mocked. Draco aimed for a blank expression but Zabini wasn't fooled. 'Oh yes, don't think I haven't noticed you and Granger walking between classes together. And I'm not the only one,' he chuckled darkly.

Unbidden, Draco's eyes went to the Gryffindor table. It looked like the Weaslette was having an intense conversation with Hermione, who looked red in the face and distinctly uncomfortable. It briefly crossed his mind to go over but she was more than capable of holding her own and it wasn't his place to encroach on their private talk. Neither was he particularly keen on being on the receiving end of a bat-bogey hex.

'Well actually, Granger will be there too. We're sharing quarters this year. It's on the sixth floor, knock on the phoenix portrait,' Draco grabbed an apple and made a hasty retreat before Zabini could comment further. He nearly collided with McGonagall a few moments later.

'Mr Malfoy, my office please. Bring Miss Granger,' the headmistress ordered in clipped tones. The timing was too much of a coincidence after his trip there yesterday. _Fuck. Bloody Severus had to break the rule of a lifetime and get chatty? I should have known he would figure it out. Now Hermione's going to think I broke my promise._ Draco was disturbed by how much the thought bothered him.

A/N: I know, I know, still no library field trip! It will happen eventually, but first up are the meetings with McGonagall then Zabini. Do you think he'll agree to Hermione's request? And is Ginny giving her a hard time about Malfoy?


	13. Chapter 13

_Recap of Chapter Twelve_

' _Well actually, Granger will be there too. We're sharing quarters this year. It's on the sixth floor, knock on the phoenix portrait,' Draco grabbed an apple and made a hasty retreat before Zabini could comment further. He nearly collided with McGonagall a few moments later._

' _Mr Malfoy, my office please. Bring Miss Granger,' the headmistress ordered in clipped tones. The timing was too much of a coincidence after his trip there yesterday_. Fuck.Bloody Severus had to break the rule of a lifetime and get chatty? I should have known he would figure it out. NowHermione's going tothink I brokemy promise _. Draco was disturbed by how much the thought bothered him._

A/N: shout-outs to pgoodrichboggs, Lena2244 and riaroo400 for being repeat reviewers, thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! You can share my maltesers (and by share I mean watch me eat). Reviews are as satisfying as having a family box of maltesers all to yourself. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which is which.

Chapter Thirteen

'Granger, McGonagall wants to see us,' Draco said as Ginny looked up at his approach. She looked annoyed as Hermione stood and made to leave.

'See you later Ginny,' she said apologetically as they left. She knew Ginny would notice Malfoy taking her bag, but oddly enough she was getting used to it and found she kind of liked it. It was nice to feel looked after for a change. 'Do you know what this is about?' Hermione queried.

'No, but I've got a bad feeling about it. What if Severus said something? I asked him not to, but the timing seems suspiciously coincidental,' he said worriedly.

'You said you weren't going to say it was me,' she reminded him, frowning.

'I kept your name out of it, I promise Hermione. I think he might have worked it out on his own, I'm sorry,' Draco said earnestly. She had to believe him, she was only just starting to trust him and he didn't want to lose that, fragile though it was. Hermione said nothing but moved slightly closer to him as they made their way to McGonagall's office.

'Take a seat,' the headmistress ordered. She looked at both of them in turn. 'Mr Malfoy, Severus and Albus told me of your visit yesterday. I cannot let this pass without taking action, I must know who is injured so that they can be treated,' Minerva said firmly. Draco glared at both Snape and Dumbledore, the latter twinkled at him while the former wore his usual slightly sneering expression.

'Thanks for betraying my confidence, Severus,' Draco ground out.

'I will not apologise for telling the headmistress of your visit boy, I gave no assurances of secrecy,' Snape scowled. 'The safety of the person involved takes precedence over his – or _her_ – desire to remain unknown.' Hermione glanced at Draco, he hadn't told, he hadn't broken her trust and she warmed a little inside at that knowledge.

'Miss Granger, you have spent the most time with Mr Malfoy since term began. I must ask you, are you the person Mr Malfoy is concerned about? Are you wounded?' McGonagall looked directly at her. Draco held his breath, unsure of what she would say.

'Yes,' she said tightly. 'I do not consent to go to the hospital wing or St Mungo's, I don't want anybody else to know about this and I certainly don't want anyone to see!' Hermione cried out in anguish. McGonagall pursed her lips at this, not missing how Draco gave her hand a quick squeeze in support.

'If I may, Minerva?' Dumbledore enquired politely.

'Please Albus, be my guest. See if you can talk some sense into the girl,' she replied.

'Miss Granger, this is no battle injury, am I correct?'

'Yes Sir,' Hermione answered quietly, head down. She was starting to tremble at the thought of them finding out what had happened to her, imagining the looks of horror and pity on their faces.

'So the injury occurred in other circumstances, are you perhaps trying to protect somebody Miss Granger? Are you worried about the consequences involved if the other party is named?' Dumbledore probed.

'No Sir, not at all!' She cried in horror. 'I'm not trying to protect him, I have no care for his wellbeing but I am not ready to tell his name or what took place. Draco has done me a great kindness by trying to help and coming to you Professor Snape for advice on cursed wounds, I did not imagine it would end in an interrogation!' A few tears fell on her flushed cheeks and Malfoy reached over again and took hold of her hand without letting it go this time, watching her in concern. The portraits and McGonagall were taken aback at the outburst and the small show of affection.

'Might I suggest something of a compromise?' Snape broke the silence. Minerva nodded gratefully, for once feeling somewhat out of her depth.

'I suggest that Miss Granger visits Madam Pomfrey several times a week until this is resolved,' he raised his voice and talked over Hermione's protestations, 'and in return she shall not be pressed for information until she is ready. In addition I propose that you both visit Malfoy Manor this weekend. You may well find the counter-curse in the library there.' Snape turned his eyes on Draco. 'I presume the spell used was not in fact, _sectumsempra_?'

'No. The incantation slowed the blood flow a little, but nothing more,' Draco replied heavily.

'It will make your search much easier if you know which curse you are dealing with. Is there no way of finding out, Miss Granger?' Hermione looked at Draco, unsure of how to answer.

'We have a plan for that,' Malfoy turned to McGonagall. 'Professor, would it be possible to bring a third person on our trip?' The headmistress stared at him levelly.

'Are you going to explain what you're planning?' She asked. _Yeah Malfoy, I wouldn't mind being let in on it either_ , Hermione thought. Where was he going with this?

'I'd prefer not to,' Draco replied, keeping his tone polite but unwavering. Hermione was quietly impressed at his bravado and looked on at the silent battle of wits between the two.

'Who is this third person?'

'Blaise Zabini, Professor,' he answered. Hermione bit her lip. They hadn't even spoken to Zabini yet!

'In addition to helping us find out about the curse he will be another set of eyes to work on searching for the counter-curse, and any volumes we may have on dryads. If you don't mind, Hermione,' he added hastily. He looked at her questioningly. In truth, Hermione hadn't thought about telling anyone of her recent news, but if Blaise was to see her worst memory then sharing her parentage with him didn't much in comparison. She nodded her agreement. Minerva was a little surprised but quietly pleased that Hermione had chosen to tell Draco herself about her newly discovered dryadic heritage, who would have thought they would be getting on as well as this? Certainly not her.

'That's settled then,' smiled Dumbledore. 'You can go this evening after dinner, Minerva you can make arrangements for them to use your floo.' McGonagall looked askance at this. Wasn't _she_ supposed to be the one in charge?

'Be here promptly at 8 o'clock and bring Mr Zabini with you. You must be back in school by Sunday evening. Oh and Miss Granger, make sure you visit Madame Pomfrey first,' McGonagall instructed, regaining control of the situation and purposefully ignoring Snape's smirk and Dumbledore's smug look of satisfaction.

A/N: any idea why Malfoy wants Blaise along for the research trip? We'll find out in the next chapter when the three meet in Phoenix Tower.


	14. Chapter 14

_Recap of Chapter 13_

' _That's settled then,' smiled Dumbledore. 'You can go this evening after dinner, Minerva you can make arrangements for them to use your floo.' McGonagall looked askance at this. Wasn't_ she _supposed to be the one in charge?_

' _Be here promptly at 8 o'clock and bring Mr Zabini with you. You must be back in school by Sunday evening. Oh and Miss Granger, make sure you visit Madame Pomfrey first,' McGonagall instructed, regaining control of the situation and purposefully ignoring Snape's smirk and Dumbledore's smug look of satisfaction._

A/N: shout-outs to BadWolfJiggy, Lena2244 and riaroo400 for being repeat reviewers, mione-draco123 for being a new reviewer and Dutchess of the Depraved for being both a new and super-duper repeat reviewer! Thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! You can each have a cinnamon bun with your coffee today. Reviews are as satisfying as hot buttered toast for supper. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which is which.

Chapter 14

Hermione arrived back in their common room a few minutes after Draco that afternoon. She put her bag down, took her robes off then looked towards the fireplace to see if Zabini was there.

'He's not here yet but I'm sure he won't be long,' Draco started. 'Before I forget, I wanted to say that you should stop shaving your legs, or using a hair removing spell, whatever it is that you do. You might be irritating the skin further and you don't want to get an infection,' he didn't look at her as he said it. It was something that occurred to him during their afternoon Arithmancy class, the way her legs had been so smooth when he knelt before her the previous night.

'I don't do either, why did you think I did?' She looked at him quizzically.

'Oh. It's just that your skin's very smooth…' Malfoy tailed off, feeling embarrassed for bringing it up. _Great, just let her think that you've been ogling her while trying to heal her. That's really going to make her feel comfortable now, isn't it? Idiot!_

'Oh, I see what you mean, um no, I don't have any hair on my legs, or anywhere really, except for my head' Hermione mumbled. _Oh gods, why did I say that? Quick, say something else!_ 'My mum was going to take me to see a muggle doctor to find out why I wasn't developing properly, what with not starting my periods as well, but I didn't prioritise it, what with everything else that was going on over the last few years.' _That was so much better Hermione, good job_ , she groaned. Her face was flaming and she turned away to the kitchenette and starting filling the kettle. His immediate thought was that she was _very_ well developed in some areas as far as he could guess from her pyjama top last night. _Oh Merlin, did she say NO body hair? Anywhere?_ Draco swallowed hard and pushed that thought to the back of his mind. He could not have thoughts like this about Hermione, he _would_ not.

'No offence, but perhaps I should make the coffee. We want it to be drinkable, Granger,' he said in a pretence of his old sneering tones. It worked to alleviate the tension as they both laughed at that. A few moments later he spoke again, 'perhaps it's to do with your dryad blood. The letter from Regulus Black said that dryads aren't meant to be able to have children, so maybe your body has developed differently.' Hermione's face fell a little.

'I hadn't thought of that. No future babies for me then,' she said a little sadly. Before he could respond there was a knock at the door and Draco moved to let Zabini in.

A few minutes later they were sitting around the hearth, formal introductions made and coffees in hand. Blaise sipped his and waited patiently for one of them to start talking, he was intrigued about why Malfoy had asked him to come. Granger looked stressed and kept worrying at her lip. Were they a couple now? Why were they living together?

Malfoy caught his eye and started speaking.

'We have something to ask of you, Zabini. We want you to retrieve a piece of information from a memory by viewing it in a pensieve. The memory is, well, to say unpleasant would be an understatement,' Draco paused, choosing his next words.

'And why would I want to do this, Malfoy? What's it to do with Granger?' His tone was carefully neutral but his eyes looked at them sharply. Hermione spoke up, this was her problem and she couldn't expect Draco to do all the work.

'I'll be blunt, there's no point trying to be delicate about this. I was attacked and cursed. I need the counter-curse to heal myself, but I couldn't make out what was said at the time. The event is too… traumatic… for me to feel able to view it again. Draco offered but I don't want him to see it,' the words came out quickly in her anxiety. 'I don't have any incentive to offer you Blaise, I'm sorry. I suppose I'm appealing to the goodness of your heart.'

Draco snorted inwardly at that, Slytherins weren't good-hearted as a rule. He was loaded and could easily offer money, but he knew Blaise wasn't lacking in that department either – he tried to think if he had anything that the other man would consider of value. Zabini frowned.

'How traumatic exactly? When you say attacked…?' Blaise didn't finish the question but everyone knew what he meant.

'I was raped,' she said shortly.

'Didn't the aurors find out what the bastard used on you? If not, I'm sure the Azkaban guards could persuade him to give up the information,' Blaise said. He couldn't see what the problem was here, what weren't they telling him?

Draco saved Hermione from having to answer. 'She hasn't reported it, she doesn't want any of her friends to know. Potter and the Weasel are being trained as aurors so they would find out as soon as Hermione reported it,' he explained. 'Furthermore, I have a theory that the attacker was either under the _imperius_ curse or was someone else using polyjuice. So arresting this particular person wouldn't necessarily lead to the information we need. _If_ – and it's a big if – it was someone using polyjuice, then there's a chance it could be someone we know. I'm respecting Hermione's request that I don't view the memory, but you might be able to pick up something from the words or mannerisms used. It's a longshot, but I don't want to rule it out.'

Hermione looked sickened at this, but she recognised the truth in what Draco said. Zabini leaned back in his seat. Just what the fuck was going on here? What reason did Malfoy have for this theory? The strange thing was, he found himself wanting to say yes. He wasn't twisted, he had no desire to watch Granger being violated, but he did want to find out more about this situation.

'Okay,' he nodded. 'I'll do it. There is something you could do for me in return Granger,' Blaise said. Draco narrowed his eyes but she nodded for him to continue. 'I'm being forced to take Muggle Studies along with Malfoy, it's a ridiculous waste of time, but I'm expected to at least pass it. You could tutor me.' Draco relaxed, that seemed harmless enough and thinking about it, he could use some help himself so he could sit in on the sessions too. Purely to help his studies, obviously.

'Of course,' Hermione agreed readily. 'We can meet here once or twice a week, I'm sure you would benefit too Draco,' she said, looking at him.

'Definitely,' Draco smiled and nodded. He realised that his being there would put her at ease, she probably wouldn't feel comfortable being alone with Zabini. She gave him a small smile in return.

Blaise broke the moment, 'do you have a pensieve? Might as well get this over with,' he said. He could already feel the dread building in his stomach at the thought of what he was going to watch.

'Ah, that's the other bit,' Draco remarked. 'You'll need to come with us to the manor tonight, my father has one in his study.' Both Blaise and Hermione turned to him instantly. She realised that was the real reason behind him asking McGonagall if Zabini could go with them.

'What? Nice of you to leave that part out until now, Malfoy,' Zabini muttered. 'How are we going to be able to leave school grounds without getting caught?'

'It's all agreed with McGonagall, we're meeting in her office at 8 o'clock to use the floo and then returning Sunday evening.' Blaise raised his eyebrows at this but Draco continued, 'you don't have to stay the weekend if you don't want to, naturally, but I'm hoping you might give us a hand searching the manor library for the counter-curse. We also need to do research on dryads and Avalon,' Draco added as an afterthought.

'Dryads and what now?' _This just keeps getting better. What am I being dragged into?_

'I found out a couple of days ago that my mother was a dryad and my father was a druid, both from Avalon,' Hermione piped up from the corner of the sofa. Blaise looked baffled. 'Here, I'll show you the letter McGonagall gave me,' and she went to fetch it from her room. Blaise closed his eyes momentarily and wished for something stronger than coffee to drink.

A/N: okay, so it looks like Blaise has joined the Scooby gang! What are we thinking about him, is he helping out of kindness or does he have his own agenda? Brownie points to Dutchess of Depravity for calling it on the pensieve at Malfoy Manor, well done!


	15. Chapter 15

_Recap of Chapter 14_

' _It's all agreed with McGonagall, we're meeting in her office at 8 o'clock to use the floo and then returning Sunday evening.' Blaise raised his eyebrows at this but Draco continued, 'you don't have to stay the weekend if you don't want to, naturally, but I'm hoping you might give us a hand searching the manor library for the counter-curse. We also need to do research on dryads and Avalon,' Draco added as an afterthought._

' _Dryads and what now?' This just keeps getting better. What am I being dragged into?_

' _I found out a couple of days ago that my mother was a dryad and my father was a druid, both from Avalon,' Hermione piped up from the corner of the sofa. Blaise looked baffled. 'Here, I'll show you the letter McGonagall gave me,' and she went to fetch it from her room. Blaise closed his eyes momentarily and wished for something stronger than coffee to drink._

A/N: shout-outs to BadWolfJiggy, Lena2244, pgoodrickboggs (good call on Blaise and the pensieve at Malfoy Manor, a gold star for you!), riaroo400, rachelll11 and Dutchess of the Depraved for being repeat reviewers. Thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! I'm enjoying reading your theories about Blaise. Reviews are as satisfying as the first glossy brown conker you find in autumn. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which is which.

I'm starting a new reward system (because frankly, I don't like sharing my cake and other treats with you, I'm a greedy guts) and I'm going to give you a story/author recommendation each day. Today's one is The Little Green Dress by VinoAmore, it's fab.

Chapter 15

'So, um, I think it's about dinner time but I'm not hungry so I'll just pop along to see Madam Pomfrey while you two go and eat,' Hermione said innocently.

'Bollocks,' stated Draco. Blaise looked at him in surprise while Hermione looked caught out. 'You have no intention of seeing Pomfrey, you're a terrible liar Granger.'

'Back to surnames now, Malfoy?' She challenged, going on the offensive. He rolled his eyes, she was so transparent.

'I'll take you to the hospital wing just now, if we miss dinner we can always get something at mine later,' Draco said determinedly.

'About that, should you not give your parents some kind of warning that we're coming?' Hermione queried.

'Already taken care of. I owled my mother at lunchtime. No more excuses _Hermione_ , we're going to see Pomfrey. Now.' She sighed in resignation and headed towards the portrait hole.

'I think I'll tag along,' said Blaise unexpectedly. The other two looked at him in bewilderment. 'Don't look at me like that,' he protested. 'You pulled me into this, I'm going to be viewing your memory and I've read your letter from Black. Like it or not I'm involved now and I intend to see it through, Gr- Hermione,' he stumbled over her name. It seemed too odd to keep calling her Granger when he now knew so much about her personal life.

Draco wasn't sure how he felt about this development but his priority right now was to get Hermione seen by a medical professional so he shrugged and motioned for Zabini to follow.

* * *

'Oh you poor child,' Poppy Pomfrey gasped when Hermione removed her trousers. 'Never in all my days have I seen something like this,' tears filled her eyes. On the other side of the curtain Draco closed his eyes, knowing exactly what the school matron was seeing. Blaise swallowed hard, having no idea what Hermione looked like as she lay there on the bed out of his sight. His sense of foreboding deepened and he decided he was glad to be skipping dinner, it seemed an empty stomach would be preferable this evening.

'Miss Granger, this must be reported. Who was the monster that did this? The headmistress tells me that you're not ready to do it, but she hasn't seen the state of you,' Madam Pomfrey couldn't hide the catch in her throat. The young woman silently shook her head. The matron tried to hide her distress and excused herself to collect the necessary items to tend to Hermione's mutilated skin. When Poppy returned a few minutes later her eyes were distinctly red and she kept sniffing. It took a while to clean her up and redress the wounds. Once this was done she cast a general diagnostic spell over Hermione's entire body.

'Oh sweet Circe!' Madam Pomfrey cried out. Blaise and Draco looked at each other in alarm while behind the curtain Hermione bit her lip and tried not to cry, she had a good idea of what was coming. Poppy lowered her voice to a whisper, 'how have you been able to walk properly? You must be in terrible pain Miss Granger! The internal damage is considerable; have your moon cycles been affected?' The young men struggled to keep their composure at this. Draco wanted to pummel Smith – _or his impersonator_ – to within an inch of his life before seeing him carted off to Azkaban to rot. His fists were balled at his sides and he desperately fought the urge to push the drape aside and hold Hermione in his arms. He glanced at Blaise only to see his own body language mirrored. _Well well, the master of sangfroid has a heart after all_ , Draco thought.

'I don't have moon cycles Madam Pomfrey, I never have. I just found out a few days ago that I'm adopted and my mother was a dryad, that might explain it, I don't know,' Hermione spoke quietly, acutely aware that Blaise could probably hear their conversation. She felt mortified but reminded herself that this paled into insignificance compared to what he would be viewing later.

The matron was taken aback at this piece of news. 'I'll give you a pain potion and then heal you, but I think you'll need to be seen by a healer at St Mungo's Miss Granger, to work out what's going on.'

'Perhaps. I'm going to be researching dryads this weekend and that might provide some answers,' Hermione responded. Poppy pursed her lips and set to work with administering the potion and performing a healing spell.

'Take this ointment with you, it contains a numbing component which might give you some relief from the burning sensation of the wounds. Here, take these bandages too and come back on Monday after dinner,' the matron said kindly.

* * *

A couple of hours later the three entered McGonagall's office carrying weekend bags. Hermione was sweating and trying to keep her breathing even, the prospect of entering the manor again made her feel nauseous. Draco had assured her that they wouldn't be going anywhere near the room where she had been tortured, but that didn't do much to settle her nerves. _Eyes on the prize, just focus on the library and you'll be fine. Oh gods, I'll have to see Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy. Oh fuck!_

Draco went stepped into the flames first, followed by Hermione then Blaise. All of them wondered what kind of reception awaited them.

'Draco, what a wonderful surprise to see you again so soon!' Cried Narcissa, embracing her son. Draco returned her affectionate gesture with some discomfort then repeated the action with his father. He was yet to forgive them for bringing Voldemort into his life and his home, but he was working on it. Ultimately they were his parents and he loved them, nothing could change that, but forgiveness and learning to trust them again would take time.

Narcissa turned towards her guests. 'Miss Granger, Mr Zabini, welcome to our home. Draco tells me that you will be making use of the library during your visit, please let us know if we can be of any assistance,' she said politely.

Blaise gave a half-bow in her direction, 'Mrs Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you. Mr Malfoy,' he shook the older man's hand firmly. Lucius and Narcissa looked at Hermione uncertainly. Surprisingly, Lucius was the first to speak.

'Good evening Miss Granger. I wish to apologise for my past behaviour and request that we try a fresh start,' he was clearly incredibly uncomfortable but Hermione thought he seemed sincere. With a glance at Draco she stepped forward and tentatively offered her hand.

'Mr Malfoy, I am weary of the war and past grudges. Consider our slate wiped clean,' she said softly. She didn't trust or like the man but she was prepared to make the effort. Draco was a prime example that people could change, so she would give Lucius the benefit of the doubt. For now.

Narcissa gave her a genuine smile and stepped forward to clasp one of Hermione's hands in her own. 'Thank you Miss Granger, you are most magnanimous.' Draco couldn't stop the grin lighting up his face. He had set his parents a test and he was grateful that they had passed. He had deliberately withheld the information about Hermione's parentage, choosing instead to see how they would treat her as a muggle-born now that Voldemort was gone. He wasn't sure how sincere their words had been, but the fact they made an effort meant something.

'Let me show you to the library, Tipsy has prepared us a light supper,' Narcissa proposed. Draco glanced at Blaise, who gave the smallest shake of his head.

'Actually Mother, Father, I wonder if we could go to the study first. We have a task to do that would best be carried out quickly. I'm hoping we can make use of the pensieve, Father,' Draco interjected.

His parents looked curious, but Lucius acquiesced without demur. 'Follow me,' he said, leading the way. Once everyone was settled in the study however, he looked at Draco. 'I think perhaps you had better tell us what this is about, son.'

Draco looked to Hermione, who nodded unhappily. She wasn't exactly open to sharing with the Malfoys, but it was their pensieve and she was a guest in their house so she didn't feel she could refuse. With a strong sense of déjà vu he took a deep breath and explained the situation as succinctly as possible, including his theory that the attacker had either been _imperioused_ or impersonated by someone else with the use of polyjuice. He kept all other details to a minimum, acutely aware of how distressing this conversation was for Hermione. He reached across the small space between their chairs and held her hand, inwardly daring his parents to comment. Lucius's gaze paused momentarily on them but didn't linger.

Narcissa looked horrified by her son's words and Hermione's ordeal. Her husband stood and went to the drinks cabinet, he poured himself a large firewhisky and drank it down. Wordlessly he poured himself a second and a measure for everyone else. Blaise downed his (he'd had a hell of an afternoon) and Lucius refilled it without comment. Several minutes later Narcissa broke the uncomfortable silence.

'Draco, I believe you may be correct with your polyjuice theory. The use of such a curse would seem to suggest that a Death Eater was the… perpetrator,' she managed to restrain herself from swearing with difficulty. 'If this is indeed the case then Mr Zabini –'

'Please, call me Blaise,' he interrupted. Narcissa inclined her head towards him and carried on, 'Blaise then, is unlikely to recognise them. Your family were not followers of the Dark Lord, am I correct?' He nodded. 'Then I propose a new plan,' she looked at Hermione. 'Miss Granger, how would you feel about me viewing the memory instead? Perhaps you might feel more comfortable with another woman witnessing your ordeal rather than a male?' Narcissa asked gently.

Hermione finished her drink and thought for a moment. It's true that having a female would be preferable to a male seeing her humiliation. And she may never see Narcissa again after this weekend, unlike Blaise, who she would have to face in lessons and study sessions. 'Thank you for your compassion Mrs Malfoy, I gratefully accept,' Hermione whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She raised her eyes to Narcissa and saw that she was fighting her own tears.

The room filled with emotion. Draco was moved beyond words by his mother's kindness; Lucius was strangely proud of his wife's actions; and Blaise was both relieved and surprised. Mostly relieved.

A/N: well, this is a turn up for the books. The Malfoys managed not to sneer at our Hermione and furthermore, Narcissa has a heart!


	16. Chapter 16

_Recap of Chapter 15_

' _Please, call me Blaise,' he interrupted. Narcissa inclined her head towards him and carried on, 'Blaise then, is unlikely to recognise them. Your family were not followers of the Dark Lord, am I correct?' He nodded. 'Then I propose a new plan,' she looked at Hermione. 'Miss Granger, how would you feel about me viewing the memory instead? Perhaps you might feel more comfortable with another woman witnessing your ordeal rather than a male?' Narcissa asked gently._

 _Hermione finished her drink and thought for a moment. It's true that having a female would be preferable to a male seeing her humiliation. And she may never see Narcissa again after this weekend, unlike Blaise, who she would have to face in lessons and study sessions. 'Thank you for your compassion Mrs Malfoy, I gratefully accept,' Hermione whispered, her eyes filling with tears. She raised her eyes to Narcissa and saw that she was fighting her own tears._

 _The room filled with emotion. Draco was moved beyond words by his mother's kindness; Lucius was strangely proud of his wife's actions; and Blaise was both relieved and surprised. Mostly relieved._

A/N: shout-outs to pgoodrichboggs, Lena2244, riaroo400, rachelll11 and Dutchess of the Depraved for being repeat reviewers. Thank you for taking the time to leave me feedback my lovelies! Reviews are as welcome as discovering that the plague of locusts (my darling children) have deigned to leave a tiny bit of ice cream in the freezer for me. Reminder – sentences in italics refer to a character's thoughts, a flashback, or a letter; it should be fairly clear which is which.

I'm not going to repeat the rape flashback scenes here, so if you need a reminder take a quick look at Chapters Two and Three.

Today's story / author recommendation is HermioneGrangerTheDragonTamer's Comfort, Or Something Like It. This was originally a oneshot but it's so damn good that her readers (especially me) are begging her to expand it!

Chapter 16

When Narcissa withdrew from the pensieve she staggered back and fell to her knees. Lucius ran to his wife, knelt down beside her and held her tightly to him. Blaise sent a quick prayer to the gods that he had not had to witness the memory after all; there was an odd feeling in his chest that he couldn't recognise but it hurt. Draco swallowed down bile and felt his insides burn with pain for the girl beside him. His mother turned around to face them and whispered Hermione's name, extending her arm towards her.

Hesitantly Hermione let go of Draco's hand and took a few steps forward before half-collapsing next to her. She allowed herself to be enveloped in the older woman's embrace and they both wept; one for herself, wishing it was her mother there comforting her, and the other for the loss of innocence and sheer brutality that her son's friend (for this is what she seemed to be) had endured at the hands of a man she now knew to be a Death Eater.

Lucius retreated and shakily poured another round of drinks for himself, Draco and Blaise; each one swallowed the contents of their glass in one gulp. It was hard to observe such pain as that radiating from the figures on the floor. The only other occasion that he had seen his wife so upset was when they were alone in their rooms the night Draco had taken the Dark Mark. He had known her opinion on the decision but ignored it, eagerly putting his son forward for the 'honour', a choice he now bitterly regretted. The three men silently watched the women cry all their tears out. When it was over Draco – and to his surprise, Blaise – carefully helped Hermione back to her seat as Lucius did the same for Narcissa. His wife clutched at his hand.

'Rodolphus,' she shivered with revulsion as she spoke his name. Hermione gasped for breath, suddenly she felt as if she couldn't draw enough air into her lungs. Without hesitation Draco lifted her onto his lap and held her in his arms, murmuring soothing words into her hair 'he's gone, he can't hurt you now. You're here with me, I'll keep you safe.' He repeated the words over and over as he held her head to his chest and gently stroked her cheek. Blaise caught a flicker of silver in Draco's eyes but he blinked and it was gone. Almost before he knew what he was doing he moved to the now empty chair beside Draco and reached out to place a comforting hand on Hermione's back. Draco narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion but it cleared when he saw the pained expression on his housemate's face. Whether he was worried about Hermione or his own actions was unclear but Draco decided to let it pass for the moment. He thought he saw a sparkle of gold in Blaise's eyes but it was gone in less than a second and he dismissed it. His parents looked on in shock, both wondering if there was something between their son and the muggle-born witch.

'How can you be sure, Narcissa?' Lucius questioned, focusing his attention back on his wife.

'Something he said,' her face contorted in disgust. 'He said " _I want to hear you scream, it adds to the fun,"_ I heard him say that when the Dark Lord once forced me to go to the revels,' her voice was so quiet only Lucius could hear it. He felt faintly sick at the reminder of the gatherings he used to attend. It was true that he'd never forced himself on a woman, but he hadn't stopped others from doing so. His brother-in-law had partaken of that activity every chance he got.

'Tipsy,' Lucius called and the house elf materialised wearing what looked to be a child's nightgown. 'Some strong tea laced with brandy if you please.' Hermione was too wrapped up in Draco's comforting to notice that the words were a request rather than a demand. Tipsy appeared not to hear him as she stood stock still staring at Hermione intensely. Lucius frowned and was about to speak when Draco beat him to it.

'What's wrong Tipsy?' He asked, glancing at Hermione.

She dropped to her spindly knees before Hermione, who looked aghast and started to protest. 'My Lady, Tipsy is truly honoured to bes in your presence. I has heard stories of your coming from mine mother and grandmother, but never did Tipsy thinks she would be lucky enough to meet sylvan spirit Lady.' The little thing looked to be on the verge of tears.

'No Tipsy, you are mistaken, I'm not this lady, I'm not anyone special,' Hermione said gently, not wanting to upset her. Blaise huffed in disagreement at her self-deprecation while Draco outright growled. His parents and Hermione eyed him warily. He ignored them and urged Tipsy to explain.

'The Lady has arrived, the one who was foretold,' the little house elf whispered in awe, 'the prophecy is comings to pass.' She looked stunned but crept closer to Draco. 'Young master is her twin flame and protector, sir is her knight and defender,' she acknowledged Blaise. 'All that has been hidden will soon becomes known.'

'Tipsy, I don't understand. What do you mean?' Draco asked, feeling bewildered by her short speech.

'Tipsy says no mores. Lady must finds Avalon and goes there,' she said firmly before disappearing. She returned a few moments later with a tray of tea things and a full decanter of brandy then promptly left again before anyone could speak to her again. Lucius surveyed the occupants of the room: Narcissa was nonplussed; Blaise looked mildly apprehensive; and Hermione's expression was one of disbelief. He turned his gaze on his son and saw a mixture of wonder and uncertainty on his face as he regarded the girl in his arms. The senior Malfoy had no idea what had just happened but he sensed that Draco's life was about to be radically altered and he had no idea how to proceed. So instead he concentrated on preparing the tea with liberal applications of alcohol and distributed the cups before gratefully sinking into the armchair to partake of his own.

Hermione lay in a huge four poster bed trying to make sense of the last few hours. The Malfoys' apologies had shocked her and Narcissa's kindness touched her deeply. Draco's tender affection warmed her and she basked in the memory. Zabini had been unexpectedly considerate and she wasn't sure what to make of that.

Tipsy's behaviour unsettled her, while she had initially dismissed it as nonsensical she found herself mulling over the words. The house elf had called her the sylvan spirit lady, which sounded like another term for dryad – but how could she possibly have known? Hermione thought hard over what she had learned since her return to Hogwarts. Her mind wandered to McGonagall's words that first night:

' _I will need to see_ both of you _at 7 o'clock on the 18th to explain further what this will mean for you in particular Miss Granger, and also for you as her fellow roommate Mr Malfoy.'_

She had mentioned it again at their private meeting:

' _The details of your parentage are going to have a direct impact on your life. You need to read the letter soon. As I mentioned yesterday evening, we shall meet again on the 18th at 7pm. Mr Malfoy will accompany you as he will be indirectly affected and we will discuss your coming into your dryadic heritage and what it will entail.'_

So Malfoy was definitely involved somehow. Why the insistence on meeting on the 18th? Was there any significance to the date? Not that Hermione knew of, it was the day before her birthday but that must surely be a coincidence, nothing more. Although…. McGonagall had used the phrase _'coming into your dryadic heritage and what it will entail.'_ Could it be that something was going to happen on her birthday, some kind of change?

Tonight was the second time she had been told to visit Avalon, although Tipsy had used the term 'find', which suggested difficulty in getting there. This wasn't a trip that could be undertaken during term-time Hermione decided, it would have to wait until the holidays, no matter how curious she felt.

A/N: no, Blaise and Draco's aren't veela! This looks set to be an interesting weekend for everyone ;-)


	17. Chapter 17

_Recap of Chapter 16_

 _So Malfoy was definitely involved somehow. Why the insistence on meeting on the 18th? Was there any significance to the date? Not that Hermione knew of, it was the day before her birthday but that must surely be a coincidence, nothing more. Although…. McGonagall had used the phrase 'coming into your dryadic heritage and what it will entail.' Could it be that something was going to happen on her birthday, some kind of change?_

 _Tonight was the second time she had been told to visit Avalon, although Tipsy had used the term 'find', which suggested difficulty in getting there. This wasn't a trip that could be undertaken during term-time Hermione decided, it would have to wait until the holidays, no matter how curious she felt._

A/N: I apologise profusely for missing Friday's update and throw myself at your feet to beg for mercy. Please find it in your hearts to forgive me for missing a day! As an apology, here's some smut ;-) This chapter is almost entirely sex and it's not our favourite couple I'm afraid, Hermione's nowhere near ready for that yet. _Yet_.

Shout-outs to repeat reviewers IGOTEAMEDWARD, Dutchess of the Depraved (thanks so much for sharing my story in some Dramione fb groups love, much appreciated), rachelll11, BadWolfJiggy, riaroo400 and pgoodrichboggs; and to new reviewers SlytherinsBlondePrincess, safewordisdevilsnare, Virginie Cires, LittleMissEighty-Sixed, xchloee and AlexandraO. Thanks so much for your feedback my lovelies, your reviews made me squeal with happiness! Reviews are as welcome as a glass of chilled prosecco when you know the rest of the bottle patiently awaits you in the fridge.

Today's story / author recommendation is Isolation by Bex-chan. This was the first Dramione fic I ever read and OH MY, did it get me hooked!

Chapter 17

As Hermione finally succumbed to sleep the other occupants of Malfoy Manor were still very much awake. In another wing Lucius and Narcissa lay close to each other in bed, quietly talking.

'Lucius, do you think Draco is in love with her? The way he was tonight, she was his sole focus, it reminded me of…'

'The way I am with you with my dearest? Yes, I noticed that and as usual, I think you may be right, though I'm not sure he's realised it himself. Tipsy called him the girl's 'twin flame'. I thought that was the stuff of storybooks,' Lucius replied thoughtfully.

'What I saw in the pensieve, I can never forget it. Please Lucius, make it go away, take me over completely and make me forget,' Narcissa whispered, moving to press herself against him. He held her close, murmuring as he peppered her face with kisses, 'I'm so sorry you had to watch that darling, you did a wonderful and selfless thing.' He was going to make love to her painfully slowly, erasing all memory of the Granger girl's attack.

Cupping his left hand around her cheek he set his lips on hers, moving slowly and patiently, waiting for her to admit him. His right hand slid down her back and pressed her closer to him. Her husband was a wonderful lover, one who took his time and worshipped her body but right now she was impatient, she needed to come and come _hard_. She wanted to lose herself in sex and sleep. Moving her hand down to stroke him through his silk boxers she moaned against his mouth, 'don't tease me, I _need_ you Lucius. Now.' She squirmed against him, wanting to feel the friction against her nipples and increase his arousal at the same time.

Lucius wasted no time, there was nothing better than sharing sexual pleasure with his beautiful wife and he was already hard from her words. 'Tell me what you need, say it Narcissa,' he murmured seductively, kneading her buttocks and grinding himself against her. As she started to pant lightly he delivered his killer blow, the word that always turned her on and soaked the skin between her thighs.

'Beg.'

Narcissa moaned and tugged at his boxer shorts, which he swiftly removed. He could see her pale blue eyes were almost black in the lamplight, the pupils dilated with lust. 'Take me,' she pleaded with him. Lucius reared up on his knees and repeated, his tone more commanding now, ' _beg_.' Excitement flashed in her eyes and Narcissa scrambled up to kneel facing him. 'Please take me Lucius, please, I need you inside me. I need you to make me come.' Her cheeks were flushed and Lucius lifted her silky chemise and gently nudged her thighs apart with his hand, reaching up to feel her warmth. Gods, but she was wet! He wanted to bury himself inside her and pound her hot little pussy until they both reached that point of bliss.

He looked into her eyes as he parted her lips and circled his finger tantalisingly slowly around her clit. He smirked inwardly as she frantically moved her knees further apart to give him better access, the little pants becoming gasps now. Lucius was enjoying the power trip and decided to take it up a notch. 'Is this what you want?' He smouldered as he inserted two fingers inside her without warning and enjoyed her resulting cry of 'more!'

'Ah, ah, ah, my good little wife. What do you say?'

'More, _please_!' She gasped, pushing herself down to meet the thrusts of his fingers, eyes glazed. He added a third long finger and Narcissa began to ride his hand, his eyes focused on the slight bounce of her breasts.

'Strip,' he ordered. Narcissa rushed to obey, pulling the short slip over her head, thrilled at the command in his tone. Their lovemaking didn't often involve domination and when it did she was usually the one in charge, she was surprised at how turned on she felt with the role reversal. Lucius's free hand went straight to her right breast, caressing the flesh as he lowered his head to her other one, eliciting more cries from his wife. He suckled on her aureola, flicking his firm tongue over the tip of her nipple while his fingers expertly played with the other one for several exquisite minutes. Narcissa was lost to the sensations. All the while his hand continued to drive in and out of her core. He knew she was close, her arousal was running down his wrist and his cock was throbbing painfully with the need to be inside her.

He withdrew his fingers and pulled back from her, smirking at her moue of displeasure. 'Get on your hands and knees and _beg me_ , Cissa,' he commanded. He watched his lovely wife hasten to comply and struggled to keep control as she moaned 'fuck me Lucius, I'm begging you, fuck me hard.' The little minx! She knew exactly what it did to him when she allowed curse words to pass her prim pureblood lips. If this is what happened when he exercised a little authority then he would be doing it more often he decided as he plunged into her from behind. He set a fast pace, 'is this what you want, naughty witch?' He groaned as he slammed into her repeatedly. Gods, he wouldn't last much longer, she felt fucking divine.

It was a point of pride for Lucius Malfoy that he always came second to his wife, and after tonight she deserved more than one orgasm he thought. It was an ego trip that she was being so responsive to his dominance and he decided to push the boundary a little and do something he'd never dared before, he slapped her bottom.

'Yes! Argh!' Narcissa cried out in a mixture of shock and arousal. He thought perhaps he'd overstepped the mark but didn't slow down his pace, he'd make them both climax first and apologise later, but damn it had felt good. His palm itched to do it again, so he did.

'Ugh, fuck, ugh, again!' His prim and proper wife begged. She was turning into a wildcat and Lucius couldn't get enough. Two more slaps and she screamed out her climax. His hips kept pistoning, he gritted his teeth with the effort of keeping himself from coming. It was a hard task when her pussy was pulsing around him and the sight of her red buttock was so titillating. He felt her contractions start to slow.

'Touch yourself,' he commanded. Almost immediately her cries and gasps increased as she moved to obey and he felt her second orgasm start to build. Lucius smacked her again, and again, and again as he spurted deep inside her with a guttural yell as she milked him dry.

* * *

Draco Malfoy lay awake in the room next to Hermione. He had requested in the letter to his mother that she be put in the room adjoining his suite because he wanted to be able to hear her if she had a nightmare. So far all had been quiet and he hoped she was getting some much-needed rest, at least one of them should. He felt a little overwhelmed by the emotional events of the day and his own feelings to them, sleep wouldn't be coming anytime soon. Lucius's apology and Narcissa's kindness to Hermione had gone a long way towards them earning his forgiveness. He was warmed by the memories of her shaking his father's hand and later being embraced by his mother as they both wept on the floor a few hours ago.

Blaise had touched her too, he remembered. He had helped Draco lift her from the floor and settle her back in the chair; then he had moved beside them and rested his hand on Hermione's back when she sat on his lap. Where did Blaise fit into everything? What did Tipsy mean by calling him Hermione's knight and defender?

He wasn't sure how he felt about being named as a twin flame and protector. The title of protector sat more easily on his shoulders than he cared to admit, he was strongly protective of Hermione, fiercely even. Holding her in his lap after his mother told them it had been Rodolphus Lestrange felt so natural, he had moved to lift her without thinking. He frowned as he thought how light she had felt, it was obvious that she had lost weight since their sixth year, almost a year on the run could do that to a person. Draco wished he had been with her during that time to look after her, he didn't trust Potter and the Weasel with her welfare. For one, she had been caught by Snatchers on their watch and hadn't there been some rumour of flying a dragon out of Gringotts? Perhaps that was a bit far-fetched, but they certainly hadn't looked after her during the battle had they? Bloody idiots.

Flitwick had killed Rodolphus during the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco knew, how he wished he'd been there to see it, or preferably do it himself. Draco had never killed anyone – hell, he hadn't even managed to kill Dumbledore when his parents' lives were at risk if he didn't – but he felt he could kill someone that hurt Hermione. Was this part of being a twin flame, a protector? He had to find out what Tipsy meant, life seemed to be moving out of his control and he had only just begun to regain mastery of his own fate after Voldemort's death. Was he now linked with Hermione forever, he wondered?

 **A/N:** well really, that was a bit unexpected. I'm not sure I can view Narcissa and Lucius in the same light again, I'm shocked! Heh heh.


	18. Chapter 18

_Recap of Chapter 17_

 _Flitwick had killed Rodolphus during the Battle of Hogwarts, Draco knew, how he wished he'd been there to see it, or preferably do it himself. Draco had never killed anyone – hell, he hadn't even managed to kill Dumbledore when his parents' lives were at risk if he didn't – but he felt he could kill someone that hurt Hermione. Was this part of being a twin flame, a protector? He had to find out what Tipsy meant, life seemed to be moving out of his control and he had only just begun to regain mastery of his own fate after Voldemort's death. Was he now linked with Hermione forever, he wondered?_

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers Dutchess of the Depraved, Virginie Cires, safewordisdevilsnare, IGOTEAMEDWARD, rachelll11, riaroo400 and pgoodrichboggs; and thank you ever so much to new reviewers BritishTonyDinozzo and SassenachStarbuck – welcome to our little group! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback, my lovelies. Reviews are as satisfying as having the end slice of a jam roly-poly cake, where all the extra jam and cream is squishing out, yum.

Today's story / author recommendation is How to Train your Auror by MrBenzedrine. Excellent plot and lots of lemony action.

Chapter 18

Blaise lay awake further down the same corridor as Draco and Hermione. He wasn't quite sure what had happened, the last few hours were a whirlwind of change and emotion. He'd never been close to Malfoy, thinking him a pompous prick, but something had made him approach him at lunch a couple of days ago to offer what he wasn't sure, friendship seemed too strong a word. Yet here he was at Malfoy Manor, so perhaps not. He felt a pull to Granger – Hermione – and clearly Malfoy felt it too, he had it bad. _Knight and defender, eh? Well it's different, at least. Let's see how this plays out…._

* * *

Downstairs in the kitchens an elderly house elf and her daughter appeared, called by their granddaughter and daughter, Tipsy.

'We must tell the forest,' Cully said on hearing Tipsy's retelling of the meeting with Hermione. 'Tipsy, gather candles, oil and wine then let us depart,' the matriarch instructed, excitement in her eyes. The three elves apparated minutes later to the ancient grove of English oak trees towards the southern border of the sprawling Malfoy estate. Maiden, mother and crone made their way to a hidden clearing in the centre of the trees, where a single standing stone was all that remained of a stone circle that pre-dated even the Neolithic standing stones at the nearby village of Avebury. The origins of the Malfoy dynasty were hidden to the mists of time, but the house elves had long been able to sense the ley lines that converged at this very point on the family's land. Old magics ran deep here.

Tipsy lit the candles and placed them in a circle while her mother Polly carried the offerings to the goddess of the land, a deity so ancient as to be known only as The Mother. Chanting words in a language long forgotten to humans Cully anointed the stone with oil, wine and drops of rainwater poured from an oak leaf. She waited a moment before saying in English, 'She is comes. The sylvan spirit Lady once foretold has comes to us. Take Cully's message to the Lady of Avalon.' Placing their hands flat against the stone the house elves poured their magic into it, causing it to glow with rosy golden light. Miles away in a land now hidden to mortal eyes the stone circle on Avalon Tor glowed, relaying the communication. Preparations began.

* * *

Draco awoke to cries and ran through to Hermione's room, again he faintly registered a shimmer of wards as he crossed the threshold. His eyes widened as her body arched off the bed and she screamed in pain 'I'm burning! The flames are burning!' He cast a cooling charm and went to her side, urging her to wake up. The charm had no discernible affect and she continued to writhe in agony.

'Draco! My skin is burning, help me,' she cried as her eyes opened. She began to tear at her clothes and push the covers back. He didn't know what to do, he knew that when this was over she would feel mortified at being naked in front of him, but her distress was increasing by the second. He helped to pull her thick pyjamas off and tried desperately to keep his eyes on her face. Swiftly he charmed her hair into a bun and placed his hand on the back of her neck, trying to cool the burning flesh.

'You're cold, that feels good,' Hermione sobbed with relief. She felt no embarrassment at being naked in front of Draco, the searing heat of her body overrode every other thought. Blindly she pulled his arms onto her own and pressed against his bare chest, revelling in the cooling sensation. 'Why does your skin make it go away?' She asked in confusion.

He couldn't formulate an answer, he was in sensory overload. Her skin was everywhere, silky and hot against his own. The effect was intoxicating. And her breasts, oh sweet Circe her breasts! Their fullness and pebbled nipples against his torso were all he could feel. _Gods, Hermione, you're killing me here!_ Draco became aware of her tugging at his lower back, trying to pull him in beside her. 'Please, my legs,' she pleaded, looking down at his brushed cotton pyjama bottoms.

'Hermione, I've not got…. I'm not wearing anything underneath,' he managed to choke out.

'Please, it hurts,' she gave a strangled sob, tears spilling from her beautiful amber eyes. He couldn't refuse her, no matter the consequences when she came to her senses. Draco removed the trousers and climbed in beside her. Immediately Hermione pressed every part of her flesh possible against him, revelling in the cooling feeling, then she turned over to push the other side of her slight form against him, sighing in relief. Draco struggled to breathe, he blew softly on her neck, hoping to cool her off further. She pulled his arm around her to place his hand on her midriff and entwined her fingers with his.

'Thank you, I'm so sorry,' Hermione whispered.

'Don't be sorry, I'm not,' he said softly. He could have bitten his tongue off as soon as the words passed his lips. _Way to put the girl that's recovering from being raped at ease, I'm a fucking idiot._ 'I didn't mean, I'm not trying to take advantage, I'd never…' how could he reassure her?

'I know, I asked you to get naked, not the other way around. What's happening to me, Draco? One minute I was dreaming of standing on a hilltop surrounded by stones and then I started to burn, the pain was awful and you made it go away. I'm so sorry that I forced you to do this,' Hermione's voice was low and tinged with embarrassment, the tears were falling in earnest now.

'You didn't force me, I wouldn't have touched you if I wasn't comfortable with it. I'm glad I took the pain away,' Draco became aware that he was caressing her stomach. When did he start doing that? It felt natural but it shouldn't, he told himself sternly. It was inappropriate to touch her this way.

'Wait, how did you know to come? How did you get through the wards?' Hermione turned around and looked at him questioningly.

'I heard you,' he frowned. 'Of course I came, I'll always come if you call.' They looked at each other as he uttered the words, it sounded like a promise.

'But the silencing spell, the wards…' she said, confused. 'I put them up in Hogwarts too, not the first few nights because I forgot, but last night I know I did. I didn't want to wake you with my nightmares.'

'I can only surmise that your magic lets me in, or my magic does' Draco said slowly, his brow furrowed.

'I can't stop you from hearing me and I can't keep you away from me,' she whispered, trying to make sense of this new development.

'Twin flame?' Draco quirked an eyebrow.

'Twin flame,' Hermione repeated hesitantly.

 **A/N:** oh bless them, they're so sweet together!


	19. Chapter 19

_Recap of Chapter 18_

' _I heard you,' he frowned. 'Of course I came, I'll always come if you call.' They looked at each other as he uttered the words, it sounded like a promise._

' _But the silencing spell, the wards…' she said, confused. 'I put them up in Hogwarts too, not the first few nights because I forgot, but last night I know I did. I didn't want to wake you with my nightmares.'_

' _I can only surmise that your magic lets me in, or my magic does' Draco said slowly, his brow furrowed._

' _I can't stop you from hearing me and I can't keep you away from me,' she whispered, trying to make sense of this new development._

' _Twin flame?' Draco quirked an eyebrow._

' _Twin flame,' Hermione repeated hesitantly._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers Dutchess of the Depraved, Virginie Cires, rachelll11, riaroo400, pgoodrichboggs and Lena2244; and thank you ever so much to new reviewer VinoAmore! Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback, my lovelies, breaking the 100 point has made me very happy. Reviews are as satisfying as having freshly painted nails without any chips or smudges.

Today's story / author recommendation is Ashes to Ashes by kateofallpeople. It's an excellent post-war fic about healing and finding love.

Chapter 19

Hermione suddenly pulled back from Draco, her eyes wide with fear. Cursing his body for betraying him he reached out to touch her fingertips with his own.

'Hermione, I didn't mean to frighten you. You're so beautiful and I can't control my physical reaction to you anymore than you could stop yourself from sneezing when you open a dusty book.' He congratulated himself on the analogy, this was bound to be a frequent occurrence for the bookworm. 'Yes, I have an erection. That doesn't mean I'm going to act on it, I'm not going to do anything to you!' Draco continued, trying to control his exasperation while reassuring her at the same time.

This was new territory for him, he'd never been naked in bed with a girl. Hell, he'd never been in bed with a girl full stop! Okay so he'd made out with Pansy a few times in fifth year but fumbled hand jobs and blind groping in broom closets didn't come close to this. Everyone assumed they'd slept together and Pansy encouraged the rumours but he had always tried to rise above it and refrain from commenting. While sex before marriage wasn't exactly forbidden it certainly wasn't encouraged, particularly in pureblood circles and Draco had been reasonably content with that. There was no one he particularly wanted and he didn't mind waiting until he found The One, if such a woman even existed. He was starting to think that perhaps she did.

'Has the burning feeling gone?' He tried to draw attention away from himself.

'Yes, all gone. Thank you,' she replied gratefully. _Does he really think I'm beautiful, after everything he's seen of me? No, impossible. He'd probably be turned on by any naked girl, I'm sure he's not picky! Still, this is a good opportunity…_

'Can I, can I look? I've only ever seen _him_ … I don't want to always feel afraid,' the words came out garbled and uncertain. Draco stared at her. 'Just to clarify, you want to look at me naked?' He asked. This was surreal. Hermione nodded, 'may I?' He slowly pushed the bedcovers down in response and watched as she conjured a bluebell flame to hover above them, casting soft blue light on both of their bodies.

Hermione's eyes moved slowly over his torso, taking in the small, flattish nipples, the defined muscles and the pallor of his skin. There was no hair and he looked so smooth, her hand started to reach out to touch him and she hesitated. 'It's okay, you can touch me. I won't move,' Draco murmured. This was bittersweet torture: the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen was lying inches away from him and he couldn't move to kiss her or touch her. One wrong action on his part and he could ruin this. Draco knew he wanted her, he wanted her so much it physically hurt. Just as she was examining him, he was raking his eyes over her too and his cock was throbbing with need. Hermione looked like a goddess in that moment, all creamy, undulating skin. He struggled to lift his gaze from her truly breathtaking form until she touched him and his eyes rolled back in his head.

She heard his sharp intake of breath as she skimmed her fingers down his chest in wonder. Her hand moved to stroke his left arm, feeling the muscles underneath as he bunched his fists in an effort to keep control. She ignored his flinch as she continued over the faded Dark Mark. Draco opened his eyes and she saw the pain and torment there. 'Don't,' she said softly. 'You've seen and accepted my scars, now it's my turn to do the same for you.'

'It's not the same, Hermione. I _chose_ this. I chose this evil thing,' he rasped. 'No, you weren't given a choice, you were a child and you didn't know the full extent of what you were getting into. Even if you had, it's unlikely you could have avoided it,' she said sadly. Her hand cupped his face for a moment before she resumed her perusal of his body. Her fingers drifted down to his hip and she took a deep breath before finally contemplating his cock. She smothered a small cry of fear – it was big, bigger than _his_ had been. In that moment Hermione couldn't understand how people could have sex – women especially – without it hurting. There's no way that could fit inside her!

'Hermione, breathe slowly, it's alright,' he reassured her. Very slowly he reached for her, 'I'm only going to hold you, I'm not going to do anything else. I'll never do anything to hurt you. I'll never do anything without your consent.' _Dear gods, surely I deserve some kind of medal for this level of self-control?!_

Wordlessly he summoned the bedclothes to cover them again and she allowed herself to be held, trying to ignore his _thing_ touching her abdomen. Her deep breathing exercises gradually calmed her down, she relaxed against him and fell asleep. Draco lay awake for a further hour, trying to come to terms with the emotions which threatened to overwhelm him.

* * *

Far away in Hogwarts a young woman turned over in her sleep, dreaming of a dark haired man wearing a holly crown. In another tower of the castle a second young woman smiled in her slumber at the vision of a beautiful knight with coffee coloured skin.

* * *

The Lady of Avalon pulled back from the obsidian scrying bowl filled with water from the Chalice Well. The wheels were in motion.

 **A/N:** our poor Herms, trying to get over her fear of sex. Happily I have no such qualms about Draco's sizeable assets and I thoroughly enjoy exploring them in my sordid little mind ;-)


	20. Chapter 20

_Recap of Chapter 19_

 _Wordlessly he summoned the bedclothes to cover them again and she allowed herself to be held, trying to ignore his_ thing _touching her abdomen. Her deep breathing exercises gradually calmed her down, she relaxed against him and fell asleep. Draco lay awake for a further hour, trying to come to terms with the emotions which threatened to overwhelm him._

 _Far away in Hogwarts a young woman turned over in her sleep, dreaming of a dark haired man wearing a holly crown. In another tower of the castle a second young woman smiled in her slumber at the vision of a beautiful knight with coffee coloured skin._

 _The Lady of Avalon pulled back from the obsidian scrying bowl filled with water from the Chalice Well. The wheels were in motion._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers SlytherinsBlondePrincess, BritishTonyDinozzo, rachelll11, riaroo400, xchloee, Lena2244, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs and Dutchess of the Depraved. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it.

Can I just take a moment to highlight my new story aesthetic, made by the incredibly talented Vino Amore! I'm in love *swoon*

Today's story / author recommendation is The Boy in the Hammock by galfoy (also check out Static and Out of Mind by her). It starts out with Hermione saving Draco but then they kind of save each other, it's a great read.

* * *

Chapter 20

Hermione woke several hours later to find herself entwined with Draco. When she realised that his leg was between hers and her thigh was draped over him she buried her flaming face into the crook of his neck in embarrassment.

'Granger, are you trying to suffocate me with your hair?' He chuckled, surreptitiously dropping a kiss on top of her head. She huffed against his skin, causing him to laugh again. 'I'd forgotten you're not good in the mornings,' he teased. Draco was making the most of this little moment because he expected her to jump away any second when she became aware of his morning wood. _Three, two, one…._

'Oh!' _And there it is_ , he sighed inwardly. Hermione looked down between their bodies, keeping her burning face firmly hidden from Draco's gaze.

'I should go take a shower,' he muttered. Merlin, did he need some relief! His breath suddenly hitched as he felt her fingertips brush against him. 'Hermione,' he gave a strangled whisper.

'I'm sorry,' she said, stricken with remorse, 'I shouldn't have done that.'

'No, it's fine, please. You took me by surprise, that's all,' he stroked down her cheek then tipped her jaw up to look at him. 'I don't know what's happening between us but I do know that I want to explore it. Slowly, I don't want to rush you. I'm terrified of saying or doing something to frighten you,' Draco admitted, trying to convey his sincerity with his eyes. Hermione didn't know how to respond so she nestled her face against him again and watched as she replaced her fingers, wrapping her hand around him this time. He kept his arms around her and tried not to grip too tightly.

 _Fuck! Merlin, Circe, Morganna, Cliodna, Salazar… fuck, fuck, fuck!_ Hermione had no idea of Draco's struggle for both breath and control, she was mesmerised by watching her hand on his skin. She didn't feel scared, she liked the way he felt like silk but underneath his shaft was rock hard. She noticed little pearls of liquid appearing at the tip and gently rubbed them over the head. For a second she wondered what he tasted like but shrank back from the thought, _too much, too soon!_

He was trying so damn hard not to move but his concentration slipped and his hips bucked, making her give a small cry of pain. He stilled immediately. 'Angel I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry,' Draco apologised desperately, realising that he'd hurt her inner thighs with the friction.

'It's okay, I'm alright,' she reassured him. Hermione gently lifted her right leg from his left thigh and he eased his leg back from between her own. He saw patches of blood leaking through the bandages but then she resumed her ministrations and the thought was pushed to the back of his mind. He was in heaven, her touch was driving him out of his mind. This was nothing like Pansy's perfunctory tugging, Hermione was taking her time to explore every inch of his cock with her small hands. She wasn't rushing, Draco was her sole focus in that room and there was nothing else in his world but her. When he came he called her name and gave himself over to the climax surging through his body.

Hermione did a mental air punch – she had done it! She had touched Draco and it wasn't scary, he hadn't done anything to make her feel pressured or uncomfortable (barring the accidental scraping of her thighs). She felt like she'd climbed a mountain and couldn't stop the grin spreading over her face. Draco beamed right back at her, he felt amazing and the cherry on the cake was Hermione's smile. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. He wanted to do more, _so much more_ , but he sensed that she wasn't ready. This was confirmed when she extricated herself to shower and dress. _Baby steps_ , he told himself. The first goal was to kiss her.

* * *

In Gryffindor Tower the Head Girl awoke with a start. Why the hell had she dreamt about Blaise sodding Zabini? What was that all about? She sat up and looked down at her hands, which were tingling with magic. She had been holding something in the dream, what was it? The more she tried to remember the more the remnants of the dream slipped away from her. Ginny made a mental note to try and get some time with Hermione today, not only had she barely seen her all week, but she would know exactly what to say to make her feel better about dreaming of a Slytherin instead of her boyfriend, Harry. Plus her friend had still to explain exactly what was going on with Malfoy.

* * *

Back in Malfoy Manor, Zabini was indulging himself in wicked thoughts of the redheaded Gryffindor while he showered. It wasn't the first time he'd dreamt of her recently, pity she was with Potter, but that didn't stop him from enjoying her fantasy visits.

* * *

Miles away in Grimmauld Place Harry Potter sipped his tea thoughtfully, listening to the sizzle of bacon as Kreacher cooked breakfast. He needed to speak to Hermione, that dream had been really weird. He had enough experience with visions to know when something was a normal dream and when it wasn't. Seeing Hermione standing in the centre of a stone circle that glowed with light definitely fell into the latter category. Someone had stood beside him, Harry thought hard, trying to picture her face but all he could remember was a coronet of oak leaves and acorns on blonde hair.

* * *

Everyone had congregated in the morning room for breakfast at Malfoy Manor. Hermione drank her coffee, absent-mindedly noting that it wasn't quite as good as Draco's. Something was niggling her brain.

'Do you have any woodland on the estate, Narcissa?' She asked out of the blue. After the previous evening she was now on first name terms with both the elder Malfoys. The others looked at her curiously.

'Why yes dear, there's a small area a couple of miles from the house,' she replied. 'Is there a particular reason you ask? Is this related to what Tipsy said last night? I've already asked her this morning to explain what she meant but I can't get her to say another word on the subject,' Narcissa was perplexed.

'I think so, yes,' she replied and then turned to Draco, 'we need to go there, now. You too Blaise. Don't ask me why because I don't know, I can just feel it. There's something important there.'

Hermione ignored the others' stares as she stripped her socks and shoes off, she only knew that she had to feel the earth under her feet when they got there. Draco walked over to take her hand and raised his eyebrows, 'dryad thing?' She nodded helplessly, 'I think so. Blaise, are you ready?'

Blaise came over and took Hermione's hand then Draco apparated them to the grove. She immediately relaxed when her feet touched the bare earth, there was a sense of familiarity that made her feel at home and she set off down a hidden path to the left. Both men kept a hold of her hands.

'There are old family stories about this grove being sacred to the goddess and druids worshipping here,' Draco remarked as they walked, knowing that would pique her curiosity. 'Really? Perhaps there are more details in your library,' Hermione said excitedly.

'I've no doubt, angel, but our priority for today is to find the counter curse for Lestrange's spell. I think my parents will help, now that Mother knows what we're looking for. Now tell me,' he continued, 'just what are we doing out here? Can you sense anything yet?'

'There's something up ahead,' Blaise said, pulling at Hermione's hand. The path brought them to the same clearing that Cully, Polly and Tipsy had visited the previous night. Magic hung heavy in the air, Hermione could almost see it shimmering and then she realised that there actually was something glinting in the sunlight. Slowly they walked towards the ancient stone and stopped a few inches away, their eyes focused on the objects lying there.

On top of the stone lay three acorns: one gold, one silver and one in natural tones of green and brown that looked as if it had just fallen from the tree moments before. Blaise and Draco exchanged a look. 'Your eyes!' The two Slytherins exclaimed together. Hermione turned to look first at Blaise, then at Draco, her mouth open in amazement.

'Draco, your eyes, they're silver,' she whispered. 'Blaise, your eyes are gold. What's going on?' She looked between them again then down at the acorns.

'I think these are for us, angel,' Draco said softly. He glanced around at the oak trees then reverently picked up the silver acorn in his right hand, murmuring a thank you to the spirits of the wood and the goddess. Immediately the acorn dissolved into his skin and travelled down his palm before settling on his inner wrist, looking like a metallic tattoo. Hermione reached across to stroke it and he inhaled sharply.

'I'm sorry, does it hurt?' She asked, worried about him.

'No, just a little sensitive, that's all,' Draco smiled back at her. Next was Blaise, feeling self-conscious he too spoke his thanks for the gift as he lifted the golden acorn and the same thing happened with it. Hermione repeated the action with the final acorn and watched in fascination as it shimmered under her skin before coming to rest on her inner wrist. The muted shades of green and brown looked beautiful against her creamy skin. The three moved their right hands in unspoken agreement to rest upon the standing stone and watched as it glowed for a moment before returning to normal. Nobody knew what to say, they could feel in their blood that something momentous had just happened, but none of them could have guessed how it would change their lives and wizarding Britain as a whole.

 **A/N:** Ooooh, exciting! I feel like going out and getting an acorn tattoo now, who's with me? Any theories on who the blonde is?


	21. Chapter 21

_Recap of Chapter 20_

' _No, just a little sensitive, that's all,' Draco smiled back at her. Next was Blaise, feeling self-conscious he too spoke his thanks for the gift as he lifted the golden acorn and the same thing happened with it. Hermione repeated the action with the final acorn and watched in fascination as it shimmered under her skin before coming to rest on her inner wrist. The muted shades of green and brown looked beautiful against her creamy skin. The three moved their right hands in unspoken agreement to rest upon the standing stone and watched as it glowed for a moment before returning to normal. Nobody knew what to say, they could feel in their blood that something momentous had just happened, but none of them could have guessed how it would change their lives and wizarding Britain as a whole._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers IGOTEAMEDWARD, AlexandraO, justlikecanada, VinoAmore, SlytherinsBlondePrincess, BritishTonyDinozzo, rachelll11, riaroo400, Lena2244, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs and Dutchess of the Depraved. Welcome shout-outs to new reviewers marianna79, martee98, AudreyPitA, and GeekybyNature. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it.

Chapter 21

Simultaneously three others felt something awaken inside them. In Ravenclaw Tower Luna smiled knowingly at the oak leaf tattoo that grew on the inside of her right wrist; while in Gryffindor Tower Ginny stared in confusion at the golden chalice emerging on her skin. Miles away in London, Harry slowly put down his knife and fork as he watched the image of a holly leaf appear on his inner wrist. He then summoned writing materials and began to pen a letter.

The Malfoys were waiting in their vast library when the three young adults apparated there. Narcissa had had enough of being kept in the dark and wanted some answers but she was forestalled by Hermione suddenly fainting. Draco caught her easily and carried her to the couch in front of the fireplace, the others followed. He knelt beside her, stroking her cheek, panic on his face.

'It's alright, she's drained from whatever rite it was that we performed in the grove. She'll come round in a minute but she needs to rest,' Blaise patted his shoulder. 'How do you know?' Draco demanded. 'I'm not sure, I just do,' he shrugged, looking baffled. 'Can I fill your parents in on what's happening? Your mum looks like she's about to explode with not knowing,' Blaise grinned. Draco nodded and the brown eyed man bade them sit down while he proceeded to bring them up to speed with Hermione's dryadic and druidic heritage, as well as the magical acorns.

'Perhaps some tea, Lucius,' Narcissa said faintly. Nodding in agreement her husband called Tipsy to request refreshments; the little house elf was positively radiating happiness when she delivered them, dropping a curtsey at the now conscious Hermione.

'Well, this is something of a surprise,' Lucius said to the young woman who was once again seated in his son's lap. Blaise joined them on the sofa and took one of her hands in his. She smiled weakly, 'you can say that again'.

After reviving themselves with tea and cauldron cakes Lucius stood and addressed Hermione. 'It's clear that you need to rest my dear, so we shall start the search for the counter curse while you do precisely that. No arguments,' the elder Malfoy said firmly. He produced a slip of parchment for each of them. 'This is what you're looking for – _semper in sanguinem et non sansa –_ it is most likely we'll find it in one of the books in the Dark Arts section…. which is extensive,' he added quietly.

'Always bleed and never heal,' Draco translated. 'Utter bastard,' he muttered. He tightened his embrace with Hermione for a moment before reluctantly laying her back down. 'Try and sleep, love. Whatever it was that happened with the acorns and the standing stone has exhausted you. I'll wake you when we find the spell to heal you.' He dropped a kiss on her forehead and stood there for a moment, watching as her eyes fluttered shut. The poor girl couldn't keep them open.

An hour and a half into the search Narcissa broke the silence. 'There's something that's been bothering me about what Rodolphus said to Hermione.' Draco poked his head around the end of the row of shelves and Lucius and Blaise approached from different directions. 'What is it, Mother?' he asked, the rest of him came into view as he walked towards her.

'He said that he – I presume he meant the Smith boy – had been passing information to the Dark Lord about some school club that they belonged to. How could that be? We know the family were never supporters and we certainly never saw the boy at any meetings,' she said, puzzled.

'Could Lestrange have _imperiused_ him?' Blaise asked.

'Unlikely,' Lucius replied. 'He wouldn't have been able to breach the wards and enter the Hogwarts grounds.' Draco looked thoughtful. 'What about someone who was already in the castle, a fellow student? They could have _imperiused_ him to give them the information and then _obliviated_ him afterwards. That way he would have no idea that he was being used and therefore wouldn't act suspiciously. But who? One of our housemates?' He and Blaise looked at each other as they mentally ran through the possibilities.

'Francis Nott's son?' Lucius suggested. 'Theo? It's possible, but he was always a bit of a loner, he didn't really socialise with _your_ _group_ ,' Blaise chose his words carefully and Draco understood the subtext – children of Death Eaters.

'There's someone else,' Draco said slowly, feeling sick to his stomach as he thought of her. 'Pansy.' Blaise considered this for a minute before nodding, she seemed the likeliest candidate.

'Phillip Parkinson was in the lower ranks of the Dark Lord's followers but I did see him talking to Rodolphus several times. It's quite plausible that she passed useful titbits to her father who then tried to use them to curry favour,' Lucius remarked. There was a long pause.

'Let's return to the search, we can get another hour in before we break for lunch,' Narcissa instructed them.

Draco wandered back to the shelf he had been checking. He was disgusted that he had touched a girl who had informed on Hermione. She was undoubtedly the one who stole a hair from Smith which enabled Lestrange to take on his appearance to rape Hermione. He wasn't sure why Rodophus had bothered with polyjuice but concluded that he must have gotten a twisted kick out of revealing Smith's deception (however unwitting) to Hermione. The man had been as deranged as his wife, they had definitely had the same taste for mutilating their victims. He shuddered and determinedly returned his focus to the books in front of him.

Almost an hour later, as everyone was starting to flag, Blaise called out. 'I've found it!' He ran back to the fireplace carrying a heavy black tome and dropped down beside Hermione, who had woken at his shout. 'Look, _mia cara_ , here's the counter-curse,' he grinned in relief. Draco joined them and eagerly peered over Blaise's shoulder to read the section he was pointing at:

'" _Semper in sanguinem et non sana" (always bleed and never heal) is a curse designed for the most hated of foes. When used it will slice open flesh and cannot be healed. The wounds will remain open and bleeding unless the counter-curse below is administered._

 _The healing spell is "et cessare faciam sanguinem evanescet in sempiternum" (cease bleeding and disappear forever). This is notoriously difficult to execute and the wand movements must be performed exactly (see diagram below). Furthermore, if at all possible a wand of hawthorn should be used, as this type of wood is best suited to healing spells."_

'Darling, your wand is hawthorn,' Narcissa said to her son as she and Lucius joined the group. 'I think you are the one meant to heal Hermione, you are after all her twin flame' she smiled at him. Draco looked down into his dryad's hopeful eyes and relished their warmth. 'Let's feed you first and you can help me practice the wand movements after lunch. You'll be healed by dinner tonight,' he promised her.

 **A/N:** finally! It's only taken until chapter 21 but they've made it to the Malfoy library at last and Hermione's cure is within sight.


	22. Chapter 22

_Recap of Chapter 21_

' _Darling, your wand is hawthorn,' Narcissa said to her son as she and Lucius joined the group. 'I think you are the one meant to heal Hermione, you are after all her twin flame' she smiled at him. Draco looked down into his dryad's hopeful eyes and relished their warmth. 'Let's feed you first and you can help me practice the wand movements after lunch. You'll be healed by dinner tonight,' he promised her._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers AlexandraO, VinoAmore, SlytherinsBlondePrincess, BritishTonyDinozzo, riaroo400, Lena2244, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs, xchloee and Dutchess of the Depraved. Welcome shout-outs to new reviewers dementorsxkiss and Abooknerdandproud. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it. Reviews are as yummy as homemade macaroni cheese.

Today's story / author recommendation is 'I am Jack's Broken Heart' by Kyonomiko, it had me hooked from the first chapter and it's an original take on the Dramione 8th year story.

Chapter 22

'I think you've got it down pat, Draco. As I said 10 minutes ago,' Hermione said dryly. They were sitting cross-legged on Draco's bed and had been practicing wand movements for the last hour.

'I just want to make sure I've got it right, I want this to work first time,' he said firmly. 'I know,' she smiled up at him, 'and I appreciate it. I think you're ready, let's do this.' Hermione sounded more confident than she felt. The prospect of getting undressed in Draco's bedroom brought her out in a cold sweat. She may have done a little experimentation this morning but her burst of confidence had been short-lived.

Perhaps he realised this because he squeezed her hand then reached behind her to pile the pillows up for her to lean back on. Hermione eased into a semi-reclining position and unfastened her jeans and lifted her hips while Draco pulled them down and off. Instinctively her hand went between her legs to cover her black cotton knickers. She moved to allow Draco to position himself between her calves. 'Ready, angel?' She smiled shyly at the pet name and nodded before closing her eyes, she hoped it wouldn't hurt too much.

Draco began to remove the bandages on her right thigh until he could clearly see the carved letters that spelt out **mudblood**. _Please let this work, please._ He took a deep breath and began to recite the counter-curse, performing the twirling wand movements as instructed, 'e _t cessare faciam sanquinem evanescet in sempiternum_.' Hermione felt a cool sensation flow along her skin and gave a small moan as the pain ebbed away at last. She was scared to look down because despite what the book had said she wasn't convinced that she wouldn't be left with scars.

He watched in relief as the wounds and bloodstains vanished, leaving Hermione's thigh a perfect vision of smooth milky skin. He was having a little trouble getting his head around having a semi-dressed Hermione Granger moaning in his bed. Not that they were _those_ kind of moans, but still. Draco swallowed hard and repeated the whole procedure with the other one, relaxing as the vile term **whore** disappeared forever. 'It worked, Hermione, it worked!' He grinned at her as she opened her eyes. Hermione looked at her legs and began to cry – the pain had gone, the foul words had been removed by the man before her. She flung herself at Draco, thanking him repeatedly as she hugged him with a mixture of laughter and tears. He lifted her onto his lap so that she straddled him, one arm held around her waist and his other hand reached up to wipe her tears away. They stayed like that for several minutes, foreheads resting against each other.

* * *

Blaise strolled through the sweet smelling herb garden in the manor grounds, his clenched fists hidden in his pockets. He hadn't been invited to join Malfoy and Hermione as she was healed and it pissed him off no end. He didn't know where exactly on her body she was hurt and it hadn't seemed appropriate to ask, so of course now he was picturing her lying completely naked in front of Malfoy. Blaise sat down in a secluded corner bench and put his head in his hands. Why was he so bothered anyway? _It's Hermione mudblood bookworm mophead Granger,_ he told himself. Except that it wasn't, she wasn't a mudblood – bookworm and mophead still held strong however, he chuckled lightly.

Did being her knight and defender give him any kind of romantic claim on her? Or did she and Malfoy belong to each other now? Blaise had heard of twin flames before, they were the stuff of legend. Not dissimilar to soulmates, twin flames were mirrors of each other, they completed each other but weren't necessarily amorous relationships. He shook his head, there was no doubt of Malfoy's intentions, he barely took his eyes off Hermione… _but then I'm the same, I'm just more subtle about it._

* * *

Hermione wiggled a little to get more comfortable on Draco's lap and they both gasped when her core settled down on his erection. He immediately tensed his arms around her before she could jump away and she looked at him uncertainly. 'How does this feel,' he asked huskily as he pushed his pelvis up and forwards for a moment. 'G- good,' Hermione whispered. Her nails pressed into his back where she was gripping him tightly. 'Good' was the bloody understatement of the century, they both thought.

 _Don't fuck this up. DO NOT FUCK THIS UP._ Draco stroked the back of her neck as she hid her face in the crook of his. It was so fucking difficult not to start touching or kissing her. The shapeless navy jumper she wore was really getting on his nerves, even more so now that he knew what she hid under it. He closed his eyes and strove to regulate his breathing and his heartrate.

The eye contact had been too intimate, too intense for Hermione but she didn't want to pull away from him either; they were so close that they couldn't be any more connected while keeping their clothes on. Her senses were filled with him – the faint aroma of sandalwood and something else, she racked her brain for the right word. Petrichor! The smell of earth after rain, he smelt of woods and damp moss, it was a heady combination and she breathed him in deeply.

Her hands splayed across his back could feel his strong muscles as he moved from stroking her neck to the length of her spine. _Sweet Circe, this feels incredible._ Instinctively she arched her back and rocked her hips against him at the sensation, unaware of the small sounds of pleasure escaping from her. Draco's jaw clenched as he battled to stop himself from coming right there. He reached down and brought her face up to his, then he caressed her lips with the pad of his thumb, telling her with his eyes what he was going to do and giving her the opportunity to pull back or tell him to stop. When Hermione did neither he slowly lowered his lips to hers and kissed her.

 **A/N:** whoop whoop, first kiss in chapter 22! Well, I did warn you early on that it would be a slow burn *cackle* Now what about poor Blaise, what are we going to do with him?


	23. Chapter 23

_Recap of Chapter 22_

 _The eye contact had been too intimate, too intense for Hermione but she didn't want to pull away from him either; they were so close that they couldn't be any more connected while keeping their clothes on. Her senses were filled with him – the faint aroma of sandalwood and something else, she racked her brain for the right word. Petrichor! The smell of earth after rain, he smelt of woods and damp moss, it was a heady combination and she breathed him in deeply._

 _Her hands splayed across his back could feel his strong muscles as he moved from stroking her neck to the length of her spine._ SweetCirce _,_ thisfeels incredible _. Instinctively she arched her back and rocked her hips against him at the sensation, unaware of the small sounds of pleasure escaping from her. Draco's jaw clenched as he battled to stop himself from coming right there. He reached down and brought her face up to his, then he caressed her lips with the pad of his thumb, telling her with his eyes what he was going to do and giving her the opportunity to pull back or tell him to stop. When Hermione did neither he slowly lowered his lips to hers and kissed her._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers BadWolfJiggy, rachelll11 (no, you can't have Draco, he's mine), AlexandraO, GeekybyNature (your comment made me laugh!), riaroo400, Lena2244, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs, xchloee and Dutchess of the Depraved. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it. I hadn't been entirely sure what direction to lead Blaise in but your reviews are resoundingly in favour of him being with Ginny - message received loud and clear! I shall keep my dirty little triad fantasies for another story, heh heh.

Today's story / author recommendation is Cruel Wanting by x. Diamond - Mutant.x (without the spaces, for some reason ff's formatting won't let me write it properly) – it's a WIP veela fic and I am loving it so far. There aren't enough really good veela fics out there!

 **Chapter 23**

Blaise decided to head back to the library to see if Hermione and Draco had reappeared yet. When he couldn't find any sign of them or the Malfoys he started to wander the stacks in search of anything related to Avalon or dryads. Given the size of the space this was no small task.

* * *

Luna sat down at the Gryffindor table opposite Ginny and Neville at dinner. A few people stared briefly but for the most part no one took any notice, they were used to Loony Lovegood ignoring social conventions and visiting her leonine friends.

'Oh hi Luna, how are you? Have you seen Hermione at all? I've been trying to find her all day but she's not in the library and I don't know where her room is this year, she's not in Gryffindor Tower with the rest of us,' Ginny greeted her enthusiastically.

'Hello Ginny, Neville,' Luna smiled serenely, 'She's with Draco.'

Neville looked puzzled but looked over at the Slytherin table anyway. 'Malfoy? Are you sure Luna, I can't see either of them?'

'Not here silly, at the manor,' Luna replied airily. Ginny dropped her fork while Neville stared open-mouthed.

'What do you mean? She'd never go back there!' Ginny cried.

'Draco makes her happy,' Luna said simply. 'Blaise is there too, he's waiting to make you happy, he just doesn't know it yet' she added casually, taking a mouthful of butternut squash and chewing thoughtfully. She swallowed and continued, 'did you get your symbol this morning? Here's mine, it's rather pretty don't you think?' Luna rolled up her cuff to show the oak leaf to the confused pair. Neville looked to Ginny for help but she shook her head, equally nonplussed.

'Oh look, it's Harry's owl,' Luna observed as she held out a morsel of squash for the bird that swooped down. 'You won't find Hermione here,' she stroked the beautiful feathers, 'try Malfoy Manor,' she advised. The owl rested for a few moments before taking off again. By this time quite a few students and even some staff were watching them; owl post was normally limited to breakfast time and it was unusual to receive any at night.

'Er, Luna….?' Ginny began, not sure how to politely phrase her internal question of 'what the fuck is going on, please can you stop talking nonsense and give me something I can work with?'

'Harry probably got his symbol this morning too, that's why he's writing to Hermione. We'll see him soon,' Luna said contentedly.

'I didn't get any mark on my wrist Luna, how did it appear?' Neville valiantly tried to keep up with her erratic train of thought.

'I did though,' Ginny said slowly. She looked at Neville before pushing her jumper sleeve up to reveal the small golden chalice etched there. 'Luna, this is what I wanted to talk to Hermione about. Well, partly, anyway. Do you know something about it? Why have I got a cup on my wrist and why have you got a leaf? Can you tell me what's going on?'

'Hermione and Draco will know more, but I can tell you that mark isn't a cup, it's the Grail symbol. You're the Grail Maiden, Ginny. And I'm the Oak Queen,' Luna said seriously. Neville looked between the two young women in bewilderment then checked his own wrist in case he had missed anything but there was nothing there.

Ginny felt a headache coming on and pressed her fingertips to her temples while she prayed to the gods for both patience and Hermione's return.

* * *

'Draco,' Hermione breathed in rapture as he kissed his way down her neck. His mouth was hot and wet as his tongue trailed her skin, it felt heavenly. Her skin was sizzling but her head was buzzing with sensory overload and conflicting thoughts. Hermione was enjoying being kissed and the incredible feeling of pressing against his erection, but she was uneasy at sitting on top of him like this, she didn't know what she was doing and she didn't want the control.

He brought his lips back up to hers and covered them, moving his mouth slowly and sensuously against her own. Draco gently sucked on her full bottom lip and the resulting whimper made his cock twitch. He thrust upwards, feeling her heat through the thin cotton knickers she wore and his trousers. He was wearing too many clothes. She was _most definitely_ wearing too many. 'Angel,' he murmured against her lips, 'will you take your top off for me?'

It was a gamble. Draco didn't want to scare her off but equally he was craving the sight and touch of her body, he desperately wanted to vanish her stupidly oversized jumper but had so far managed to restrain himself. Hermione pulled back a little to look at him and almost flinched under his searing gaze. 'Your eyes are silver again,' she whispered, feeling herself getting wetter. 'Draco, I want, I want….' She bit her lip, feeling embarrassed and unsure.

'Hermione tell me,' he commanded, his voice velvety. 'You can tell me anything, I want you to be honest with me.' She nodded as her cheeks reddened. 'Would it make it easier if you closed your eyes then told me?' She nodded again and shut them. Draco suppressed a smile and stroked her cheek, 'come on then angel, tell me what you want, what you need.'

Tremors of desire shot through her body straight to her core and her inner muscles clenched involuntarily. _Sweet mother of Merlin, his voice!_ Hermione was so turned on that she felt drunk, she decided to throw caution to the wind and bare her soul to the man who had healed her and was now driving her crazy.

'I want to take my clothes off for you, I want to take your clothes off,' the words were barely audible but every single one caused his body to react. 'I need a little help,' the words came more slowly now and Draco watched her face intently, waiting patiently. He knew how difficult this was for her and he was determined not to rush her. 'I don't want to be on top of you, I don't want to have…. I don't want to have control,' she finally got the words out and blindly pressed her fiery cheeks to his chest in mortification.

If he hadn't known her history this request wouldn't have bothered him in the least, quite the opposite in fact. Draco was naturally dominating, he liked control in his life and in most of his sexual fantasies he was the one in charge. The situation with Hermione was a little different however, he had been willing to let her take the lead and to do as little or as much as she wanted. Now he wasn't sure if she wanted to be dominated because that's what turned her on, or if it was somehow due to her being raped. He was almost certain that had been her only sexual experience to date and he didn't want to cause her further emotional damage. He decided to set some ground rules.

'Hermione, look at me love,' he said. When she finally pulled her head back and met his eyes Draco continued, 'in this room I have complete control.' Heat pooled in his abdomen at the way her pupils dilated and her breath started to come in little pants at that. 'I insist on two things, Hermione. Firstly, you must tell me if I'm going too fast – if you say the word 'wait' then I'll slow things down and we can talk about what's making you uncomfortable, alright? And secondly, if you want to stop just say 'stop'. You don't have to give me any reason, you never have to justify yourself to me. You tell me to stop at _any_ point and I will, I won't get angry, I promise. Do you trust me?' This, he knew, was a big ask. It might feel to him as if they had been close for a long time, but in reality it had only been a few days. He forced himself to keep his expression calm while he waited.

'I do.'

 **A/N:** phew, is it just me or is it hot in here?

So I have a few things to tell you my lovelies. The first is that it's my birthday today so there may be some imbibing of alcoholic substances this evening, which may in turn hinder my writing capabilities. I apologise in advance if I miss tomorrow's update.

Secondly, a couple of you already know that I'm a doula and I wanted to warn you that I'm on call for a birth, so if I miss a daily update at any point that's the reason why!

Lastly, I've made a facebook page under my pen name of WinterWillows. There's nothing on there yet but I plan on putting up pictures that inspire the main characters' costumes later on in the story, as well as teasers for the other stories that I'm working on. So pop over and say hello


	24. Chapter 24

_Recap of Chapter 23_

' _Hermione, look at me love,' he said. When she finally pulled her head back and met his eyes Draco continued, 'in this room I have complete control.' Heat pooled in his abdomen at the way her pupils dilated and her breath started to come in little pants at that. 'I insist on two things, Hermione. Firstly, you must tell me if I'm going too fast – if you say the word 'wait' then I'll slow things down and we can talk about what's making you uncomfortable, alright? And secondly, if you want to stop just say 'stop'. You don't have to give me any reason, you never have to justify yourself to me. You tell me to stop at_ any _point and I will, I won't get angry, I promise. Do you trust me?' This, he knew, was a big ask. It might feel to him as if they had been close for a long time, but in reality it had only been a few days. He forced himself to keep his expression calm while he waited._

' _I do.'_

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers BadWolfJiggy (your wish is my command!), SlytherinsBlondePrincess, AlexandraO, GeekybyNature, riaroo400, Lena2244, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs, xchloee and Dutchess of the Depraved. And a special shout-out to new reviewer Thebookwasbettergirl, great name btw. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it.

So, birthday prosecco has been quaffed, smutty goodness will ensue, hurrah!

Today's story / author recommendation is 'It Goes Like This' by Bunnyhops. It's a WIP with our Hermione and some seriously sexy Slytherins, yum!

 **Chapter 24**

Draco looked into Hermione's eyes for a long moment before kissing her. She had just given him something very precious, her trust, and it was sacred to him. He deepened the kiss and tried to pour his feelings into it, to show her how much he valued what she was giving him. Hermione parted her lips to let him in and moaned when she felt his tongue stroke her own. She had been kissed exactly twice in her life before this point: once by Viktor at the Yule Ball, her heart hadn't really been in it because she couldn't stop thinking about Ron; and the second time was when she threw herself at Ron in the Chamber of Secrets when he suggested telling the house elves to flee the battle. Neither experience had been anything like this.

Draco wasn't hugely experienced, having only kissed Pansy and Astoria Greengrass (but he'd been so drunk on that occasion he wasn't sure it counted), but he followed his instincts and caressed Hermione's tongue with his own. His lips were full and the pressure was firm. Hermione was relieved that he didn't slobber over her like Viktor or try to push his tongue down her throat as Ron had. Quite simply, he felt amazing. His hands lifted the hem of her jumper and went to rest on her lower back, where his thumbs slowly stroked up and down. She sighed in pleasure at the contact and began to relax a little more.

Knowing that she was still uneasy straddling him, Draco gently moved her off and knelt in front of her. He watched her face to make sure she was okay with it and slowly started to lift her jumper above her head and cast it aside. What greeted him was not an entirely pleasing prospect – Hermione's frumpy beige minimiser bra. Draco raised a brow and she looked down, blushing furiously.

'I'm buying you new underwear,' he said, then he removed the offending article and flung it across the room, freeing her sizeable breasts. 'There you are, my beautiful nymph,' he growled sexily and Hermione couldn't contain a small giggle at his wiggling eyebrows, which of course was his intention. He wanted her to feel relaxed and comfortable with him. The sight of her almost naked body sent a jolt right through him and he felt himself grow even harder. Her rosy pink nipples peeping up from pale pink areolae made his mouth water. 'Lie back,' Draco instructed and she lowered herself into a semi-reclining position against the pile of pillows that he'd arranged earlier. He then began to stroke her skin, starting at her thighs, now unmarred by wounds, then moving to her sides. She was underweight he thought, frowning slightly. Her hips bones and ribs were more prominent than they should have been and he made a mental note to keep an eye on her eating habits.

Ever so slowly his skilful hands worked their way to her fleshy globes and Hermione scraped her nails along his arms in impatience. 'You're wearing more clothes than me,' she observed with a slight pout. She looked adorable and he gave a rakish grin as he swiftly stood to remove his trousers then settled back between her legs, his hands returning to their tortuous teasing. 'Better?' He asked. 'Mmmm hmmm,' she replied shyly, her fingers reaching out to tentatively touch his muscular thighs.

Draco could see that she was getting nervous again and decided there and then not to take things too far – this time, at least. And he was determined that there would be plenty of future occasions because by gods he wanted her, he wanted her with every cell in his body and every thought in his brain. He realised that any kind of penetration would be too much, too soon, but that still left other options. He finally began caressing her breasts, stroking his fingers along the undersides, sides and around to the top, watching her nipples harden.

'Please,' Hermione gasped. It felt so good and her knickers were dampening with arousal, for a fleeting second she worried that he might be able to smell her and the cheeks flamed. Draco leaned forward to murmur in her ear, 'please what, angel? What do you want me to do? Say the words.'

'Touch me, please Draco' she pleaded, writhing under him. She was so incredibly turned on that it made her bold and she pulled his hands those last few tantalising centimetres onto her nipples, causing him to groan with excitement. Hermione arched her back to press closer against him and cried out with desire. Immediately her hand flew to her mouth in panic, what if someone heard her? She was horrified at the thought but he reassured her quickly. 'It's alright angel, I put a silencing spell up. The wards are attuned to you and I, no one else can enter, I want this to be our haven, where we can be with each other and let go,' Draco explained. In response she took his face in her hands and pulled him down for a heated kiss.

She soon broke away however, as she threw her head back at the thrill of his palms rubbing circles over her breasts, dragging her nipples in bittersweet torture. Hermione was faintly aware of her knickers being soaked but she didn't care, she was utterly consumed with passion and barely noticed that she was crying out a stream of incoherent moans and pleas for him not to stop. Her hands were everywhere, raking her nails down his thighs, his torso, and his back before coming to rest on his shoulders where she clung to him for dear life. 'Do you like this angel? Do you want more?' He breathed in her ear and she all but screamed her agreement.

Draco wondered if she might actually come just from this manual stimulation but by this point the front of his designer black jersey trunks had several wet spots and he was aching for release. The sounds Hermione was making, the earthy scent of sweet cunt and the sight of her squirming underneath him were driving him close to the edge. His large, rock-hard cock throbbed painfully and he desperately wished he could be inside her, he longed to fuck her right into the mattress. This was like nothing he'd ever experienced, his hottest fantasies easily paled in comparison next to having Hermione Granger in his bed.

He lay down on top of her and lowered himself onto his forearms, keeping his hands on her but moving his fingers to start tweaking those oh so sensitive nubs. Hermione couldn't help it, she bucked her pelvis up, desperate to find a way to manage the sensations, she was so close to something, she wasn't sure what but a pressure was building inside her and it needed an outlet. 'Does my cock feel good Hermione? I want you to come for me and scream my name. Come for me Hermione!' He urged, his voice low and seductive, and she did.

Her world imploded. The pressure in her breasts and core released in waves throughout her body. White lights exploded behind her eyelids and she screamed his name as she came repeatedly, soaking Draco through their underwear. He came hard with a hoarse shout, her name on his lips. He didn't give a shit that he'd just come in his shorts like a third year, he felt so damn good that he was on top of the world. _Fuck, Hermione, fuck! Sweet Salazar but she is incredible. She belongs to me now._

He kept rocking his hips until her multiple orgasm finally subsided and then he rolled them onto their sides, holding her in close to him, gentling his with his hands and soft words as she sobbed. Initially he started to freak out at her tears but then he realised that her release – both physical and emotional – had been so overwhelming that this was her body's natural reaction. It dawned on him that she might have just experienced her first climax. With him. The thought made him swell with pride and something else that he couldn't name.

When the tears eventually stopped Hermione pulled back from Draco's chest enough to look at him in wonder. 'Is that what it's like every time?' He shook his head, 'no. The closest I've experienced to that was this morning, with you. What just happened was the most intense orgasm of my life, Hermione. That's what you made you cry, the intensity of the release,' he explained softly, cradling her cheek in his hand. 'So you don't think I'm weird for doing that?' She asked hesitantly. He gave her the sweetest smile she'd ever seen and kissed her forehead, 'no, I think you're amazing. Now sleep a little before dinner, you need it.'

 **A/N:** and that is what happens when I drink – a chapter with zero plot and 100% smut. Oops!


	25. Chapter 25

_Recap of Chapter 24_

 _When the tears eventually stopped Hermione pulled back from Draco's chest enough to look at him in wonder. 'Is that what it's like every time?' He shook his head, 'no. The closest I've experienced to that was this morning, with you. What just happened was the most intense orgasm of my life, Hermione. That's what you made you cry, the intensity of the release,' he explained softly, cradling her cheek in his hand. 'So you don't think I'm weird for doing that?' She asked hesitantly. He gave her the sweetest smile she'd ever seen and kissed her forehead, 'no, I think you're amazing. Now sleep a little before dinner, you need it.'_

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers IGOTEAMEDWARD, rachelll11, BadWolfJiggy (it was prosecco!), AlexandraO, riaroo400, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs, xchloee and Dutchess of the Depraved. And a special shout-out to new reviewers always14, Goldilocks775, SassenachStarbuck and KariA 16. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it. The general consensus from your reviews is that I should drink more, seems reasonable to me!

I've started a new story 'His Leonine Princess' that you may want to follow, I'll warn you now that there will be a mild Daddy-Dom theme running through it, so if that's not your cup of tea don't go there.

Today's story / author recommendation is 'Love of a Mate' by CJRed. In fact anything written by her is bloody amazing, go check her out, right now!

Chapter 25

The Lady of Avalon ate sparingly of the meal laid before her in the feasting hall. She listened with half an ear to her druid companion as she sipped nettle soup and swallowed mouthfuls of buttered bannock bread. Without warning the fire in the great hearth and the torches on the walls flared rose gold, the flames stretching strong and true. Silence fell over the assembled company. The Lady smiled to herself, Bryony's daughter had taken the first steps in binding with her twin flame. Her magic was strong, but she must be prevented from harnessing any more of her sexual power before the ritual. The Lady set her mind to work.

* * *

The tap at the window broke Draco's reverie and he eased himself out of the bed, trying not to wake Hermione as he did so. She moaned at the loss of warmth and slowly came to as the draught from the open window chilled her skin. Draco removed the letter from the owl's leg and closed the window, the poor thing needed to stay and rest, it looked exhausted. He motioned to the bowl of owl treats and conjured fresh water in the adjacent dish. When he turned back to the bed his breath hitched at the sight of Hermione lying there. The bedclothes were strewn low over her hips as she propped herself up on her elbow, watching him.

'That's Harry's owl, Flora' she said, puzzled. He nodded and handed the letter over, it was addressed to her. 'How did she know to find me here I wonder?' Draco didn't answer, unable to look away from her bare breasts, their rosy nipples pebbled in the cold air. He reached out to caress them and she dropped the parchment, arching under his touch. He moved to straddle her and lowered his head to place wet, open-mouthed kisses over her right breast as his hand continued to caress her left. She was so damn responsive! The soft moans, the way her fingers ran through his hair and her hips bucked underneath him – she filled his senses and he couldn't get enough. The rushed groping he'd shared with Pansy in hidden corners had done little for him and now he realised why, he simply hadn't been attracted to her. Pansy wasn't in the same league as Hermione, not by a long shot.

'Come under the covers, it's cold,' she said softly, pulling his head up to her for a kiss. _Does she have any idea how sexy she is? Merlin, she's beautiful, and her tits! She's so fucking beautiful._ He moved to comply and settled them so that they lay on their sides facing each other then he moved down to continue his worship of her truly divine flesh. There was a momentary vision in his head of them lying together like this, but with a newborn baby in between them suckling her, a few drops of precious creamy milk escaping from her other breast. A moment later the image was gone but the memory of his heart swelling with love remained. Then Hermione's hand dug into his shoulder as she gasped his name and all thoughts were driven from his mind.

The parchment crackled as she squirmed and her eyes flew open, still hazy with desire but the spell was broken. 'Draco, the letter, there might be something wrong with Harry,' she said worriedly. He groaned, bloody Potter had a rotten sense of timing! Reluctantly he pulled back from her a couple of centimetres and retrieved the missive, handing it to her. Hermione quickly broke the seal and unrolled it to read.

 _Hermione,_

 _I had an odd dream about you last night, you were standing in a stone circle and it wasn't a usual dream, more of a vision really. Do you know anything about a holly leaf tattoo suddenly appearing on my wrist this morning?!_

 _Can we arrange to meet and talk in person? I feel like this is something big. I can come to Hogwarts or Hogsmeade any evening after 7pm, just let me know what day._

 _Your brother,_

 _Harry._

'Brother?' Draco queried, unashamedly reading the note alongside her.

'Yes, _nosey parker_ , I'm his sister. It's a long story,' she replied. He said nothing, just continued to look at her expectantly. 'You want more?' She raised her eyebrows and he nodded in confirmation. Draco felt an urgent need to know the full details, were they really related? It didn't seem credible, his parents were Lily and James Potter, hers a dryad and a druid – how could they possibly be siblings?

'Well, you know that Harry, Ron and I spent a long time on the run, hunting for horcruxes? At one point Ron left us,' her voice fell and her eyes were full of sadness. Draco burned with anger, how could stupid Weasel King leave her like that? Such an action was selfish and cruel. A small voice in the back of his mind tried to remind him that he had often acted that way himself, but he quashed it.

'Harry and I, we felt so alone and abandoned. Both of us were orphans and our best friend had left us, we only had each other and we desperately wanted to belong, to belong to a family and to each other. So we did a blood bonding spell one night.' Holding up her hand Hermione showed him a faint line running down her right palm, 'he has a matching scar on his palm. We shared our blood and now Harry is the only family I have,' she said softly.

'You have _me_ ,' the words were out before he could catch them and they looked at each other in surprise before they both blushed conspicuously. A moment later Draco cleared his throat, 'so Potter now has dryad blood in him.' Hermione blinked in surprise, why had this not occurred to her before now?

'Oh. Ooooooh. I really do need to talk to him,' she murmured.

 **A/N:** I'm so sorry for missing two daily updates, I throw myself on my knees at your feet to beg forgiveness!


	26. Chapter 26

_Recap of Chapter 25_

' _Harry and I, we felt so alone and abandoned. Both of us were orphans and our best friend had left us, we only had each other and we desperately wanted to belong, to belong to a family and to each other. So we did a blood bonding spell one night.' Holding up her hand Hermione showed him a faint line running down her right palm, 'he has a matching scar on his palm. We shared our blood and now Harry is the only family I have,' she said softly._

' _You have me,' the words were out before he could catch them and they looked at each other in surprise before they both blushed conspicuously. A moment later Draco cleared his throat, 'so Potter now has dryad blood in him.' Hermione blinked in surprise, why had this not occurred to her before now?_

' _Oh. Ooooooh. I really do need to talk to him,' she murmured._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers justlikeCanada (be patient, it's coming!), IGOTEAMEDWARD, KariA 16, rachelll11 (get in the queue), BadWolfJiggy, AlexandraO, Goldilocks775, riaroo400, Virginie Cires, pgoodrichboggs, Abooknerdandproud, xchloee and Dutchess of the Depraved. And a special shout-out to new reviewers kimbclar, a-bit-of-madness. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it.

Today's story / author recommendation is ' _Dragon Delights'_ by xxxkia. It's a WIP and oh so intriguing!

* * *

 **Chapter 26**

Several minutes later everyone gathered around the dining table for dinner. 'How are you feeling Hermione, did the counter-curse work?' Blaise asked.

'Yes it did,' she smiled. 'And I feel much better than I did this morning, I'm ready to make a start on the library tomorrow.'

'I found something earlier, it doesn't mention dryads I'm afraid, but it does give some information on Avalon and Excalibur. Apparently the sword is one of the Faery Hallows, I can see why the Dark Lord would have wanted to go after it,' he passed a small green volume across the table to Hermione.

'Ah yes,' remarked Lucius, 'I remember reading that some years ago now, it really is most interesting. As I recall the Faery Hallows consist of Excalibur, the Grail, the Stone of the Goddess and the Staff of Avalon,' he mused.

Hermione groaned inwardly. 'I do hope this isn't going to lead to another Hallows hunt,' she said weakly.

'If it does, you'll have us this time around _mia cara_ , instead of Potter and Weasley,' Blaise gave her a reassuring smile.

'Well…' Draco began, 'it turns out Potter's involved too,' he said unhappily.

'Isn't he always?' Sniped Lucius. He gave a slight wince as Narcissa kicked him under the table and he suddenly became very interested in his roast partridge, potatoes and mangetout.

'Yes, well,' Hermione said awkwardly. 'Harry and I did a blood bonding spell a while ago, so not only are we siblings but he also has a percentage of dryad blood in him. Apparently when we got our acorn marks he got one of a holly leaf and I have no idea what that means,' she finished. Blaise frowned in displeasure at the news but Narcissa looked thoughtful.

'Why holly I wonder, when you three have acorns?' She pondered. 'Hermione, can you think of any particular reason why that would be?'

After a moment's consideration Hermione replied, 'his wand is holly, but that's the only connection that springs to mind. But then none of us have oak wands yet we got acorn symbols, so that doesn't seem to tie in,' she wrinkled her brow in puzzlement.

'By that theory my mark would have been an apple rather than an acorn, seeing as my wand is apple wood,' Blaise commented. 'There must be some other significance to holly, perhaps Potter will know?'

'I replied to his owl asking him to visit on Monday evening, I have no doubt that he'll be able to wangle using McGonagall's floo,' Hermione grinned affectionately, already looking forward to seeing Harry again. 'So perhaps he can shed some light then and we can bring him up to speed on what little we know. I don't want him to know about the other thing,' she added anxiously, looking between Blaise and Draco for their assent. They both nodded but Draco in particular was reluctant, feeling that her brother should know about the attack. He might not like Potter (to put it mildly), but he was such a huge part of Hermione's life that he had to respect their relationship. It was inevitable that he was going to be seeing more of him. _Urgh. Fine, I can be civil to Scarhead but I draw the line at Weasel King!_

* * *

That night Hermione lay in bed reading the book that Blaise had found, _The Isle of Avalon_ , written by a nineteenth century witch, Blasine Cador. She dreamt again of a ring of stones upon a hilltop but this time it was accompanied by the chanting of haunting melodies.

Draco had difficulty falling asleep. He kept thinking about Hermione lying in her bed on the other side of the wall. He could smell her skin on his pillow, sweet clover and honey. He wondered if she would have another nightmare then despised himself for the small part of him that half-hoped she would, just to give him an excuse to go to her.

Blaise was also awake. He was conflicted by thoughts of Hermione and the Weasley girl, Ginevra, he corrected himself. Odd sort of name, but then he wasn't really in a position to comment, he rolled his eyes at himself. Would he dream of her again tonight? He could feel the control on his neat, orderly life slipping away from him but the strangest thing was his lack of anger. He wanted to see where this would lead. He _needed_ to.

* * *

The following morning found Hermione, Draco and Blaise once again in the library. The elder Malfoys were having their customary Sunday morning lie in; Draco had once made the mistake of interrupting this as a child. He was still mentally scarred from the memory.

'Show me where you found the book yesterday Blaise, perhaps there might be something else relevant nearby,' Hermione requested. They followed him deeper into the library until they came to a reading nook. 'Is that Professor Snape?' Hermione peered at the single portrait as they approached.

'Ah Miss Granger, we meet again,' Snape drawled, making sure to mask his excitement with a characteristic sneer.

'Well you did suggest that we come,' she retorted tartly.

'Indeed,' Snape curled his lip.

'Severus,' Draco interjected before things got nasty, 'we found the counter-curse yesterday and healed Hermione.' Snape regarded his godson, the boy couldn't keep the happiness out of his eyes. _Interesting._

'Well done,' Severus managed to make the words of praise sound like an insult. Hermione ignored him and turned to browse the bookshelves, with a disparaging look at Snape Blaise followed her lead. Draco, meanwhile, continued to look his godfather straight in the eye. He wasn't taken in by the indifferent hauteur, he knew Snape was pleased at the news.

'I don't suppose you could point us in the right direction for books on dryads, could you?' Draco questioned.

'Ask and ye shall find,' the older man replied cryptically. Draco frowned for a moment then spoke clearly ' _accio_ dryad books!' Nothing. Hermione turned back to the portrait, looking thoughtful.

'Perhaps it depends on who is doing the asking,' she said slowly, watching Snape's face for a reaction. She caught the momentary glint in his eye.

Blaise touched her arm to get her attention. 'Don't use _accio_ , try something different,' he advised. Seeing her confusion he elaborated, 'it's a relatively recent spell, created a hundred years or so ago. I think what we're looking for is much older and I get the feeling these books won't respond to it.'

'How curious,' Hermione murmured. She paused for a moment to choose her words then took a deep breath. 'I am Hermione Vine, daughter of the Forests of Avalon and I invoke the knowledge of my ancestors to bring any books of my heritage to me,' she called out, her soft tones ringing with authority. Her companions looked at her in awe, for the first time since their return to school they could see her inner strength shining through. A second later the shelf underneath Snape's portrait began to glow and two books suddenly emerged, pushing themselves towards her waiting hands.

 **A/N:** okay lovelies, I could do with your opinion on something. I had initially planned for the dryadic changes to happen to Hermione on her birthday (19th September); however, so far in the story we're only up to the 7th of September. My question is, should I stick with my original timeline or would you like me to hurry things along a bit?


	27. Chapter 27

_Recap of Chapter 26_

' _How curious,' Hermione murmured. She paused for a moment to choose her words then took a deep breath. 'I am Hermione Vine, daughter of the Forests of Avalon and I invoke the knowledge of my ancestors to bring any books of my heritage to me,' she called out, her soft tones ringing with authority. Her companions looked at her in awe, for the first time since their return to school they could see her inner strength shining through. A second later the shelf underneath Snape's portrait began to glow and two books suddenly emerged, pushing themselves towards her waiting hands._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers Abooknerdandproud, xchloee (re Blaise I think you might enjoy my other story, His Leonine Princess…), BadWolfJiggy, IGOTEAMEDWARD, justlikeCanada, Rissa1986, Goldilocks775, bL00D pRINC3SS, kimbclar, Lena2244 (how cool that you share a birthday with Hermione!), KariA 16, , Dutchess of the Depraved, pgoodrichboggs, Virginie Cires, AlexandraO, and riaroo400. And a special shout-out to new reviewers jaspersanna and Cheyenne Lopez Lozano. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it and I will be sticking to my original timeline as planned.

**Possible trigger warning: brief mention of stillbirth.**

Today's story / author recommendation is anything by Kittenshift17; I honestly cannot narrow it down to just one choice, her work is amazing!

* * *

 **Chapter 27**

Hermione carefully took the slim books and read the titles _Priestesses of Avalon_ and _Dryad Lore_. 'We better get reading,' she said excitedly, moving straight into research mode. She glanced up at the portrait, intending to thank Snape but he had vanished, she shrugged and headed towards the sofa by the fire.

An hour later Draco had finished _The Isle of Avalon_ , which Blaise and Hermione had already read; and Blaise was on the final pages of _Priestesses of Avalon_. Hermione had come to the end of _Dryad Lore_ almost half an hour earlier, it being little more than a pamphlet, handwritten in faded black ink. She had been studiously making notes on the text and was now gazing into the fire, looking more apprehensive than thoughtful.

'Angel?' Draco broke her reverie, 'what's wrong?'

Hermione looked helpless, she wasn't sure where to start. Seeing this, Blaise decided to ask direct questions to draw the information out of her. 'Did it mention any other children being born to dryads?'

'Yes and no,' she replied unhappily. 'The author,' she glanced at the name, 'Niniane Kay, only found one recorded dryad birth. The baby was stillborn at five months.' It was hard to stop her lip from trembling, Hermione had no intention of having children within the next few years, but she had always assumed that she would in time. This no longer looked likely and she felt sadness for the loss of children that she could never now have. Blaise moved to sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulders to comfort her. Draco noted that his eyes flashed gold again. Did this only happen when one of them felt intense emotion, he wondered? _Does he love her too? What?! I don't love her, do I? Stupid question, of course I fucking do. Bloody hellfire._

Taking a deep breath she continued, 'however, there are two instances of dryads who left their mother trees after falling in love with a mortal. I don't know if their experiences will apply to me…' she trailed off uncertainly.

'What happened to them, _cara_?' Blaise prompted.

'They seemed to change overnight from slender, willowy dryads (no pun intended) into woodland nymphs, which aren't quite the same thing. Their hair and eyes changed colour and they became, um, er, rather curvaceous,' she stuttered, blushing furiously. Draco raised an eyebrow, as far as he could tell Hermione was already pretty curvy, at least her top half was.

'Hang on,' started Blaise, 'your mum must have done that to be able to sleep with your dad. So doesn't that mean that you're more wood nymph than dryad? And a half-nymph at that. Druids are still human, right?'

'Yes, I think so. They study druid lore to an advanced level and become adept at that branch of magic, but as far as I know they're still human, as opposed to wizard or anything else,' Hermione answered, unsure where he was going with this.

Draco, for his part had cottoned on straight away. 'So you may be able to have children,' he smiled.

'Oh!' She looked from one to the other then slowly broke into a delighted grin. Her face then fell a little. 'There's another change too. The women were in agony for the first 24 hours, apparently their skin felt like it was on fire,' Hermione looked at Draco. 'Just like what happened on Friday night,' she said solemnly. _But why on Friday, what was special about that day? Was it what Tipsy said?_ She made a mental note to speak with the house elf before they left.

Blaise looked confused and Draco told him about Hermione's dream of standing on a hill in a stone circle and how she woke in intense pain, burning up all over. He stopped, unsure if she would want him to finish his explanation.

'The only thing that took the burning away was Draco's skin on mine,' she said quietly. Blaise locked eyes with Draco, silently wondering if he could have given her the same relief. He couldn't help picturing the two in bed together. Draco met his eyes unwaveringly, the message clear in his gaze: _she is mine_. Unaware of the men's stand-off Hermione flicked back to the relevant page and recited, '"My theory is that dryads have a layer of protection akin to bark on a tree and leaving their mother tree causes this to be stripped off. It can be compared to a branch being divested of its bark to make a wand, except where a wand is oiled and seasoned to safeguard the wood before being polished, nothing appears to protect the skin of a newly made woodland nymph and she must suffer until a day and a night have passed."' She looked up at Draco. 'Perhaps if this happens to me then you can help again?' She asked tentatively.

'Of course,' he reassured her. _How very noble of you_ , Blaise rolled his eyes. 'Do you think your nymph changes have happened yet, given that you've already experienced the scorching sensations?'

'I have a feeling that the changes will happen on my birthday, after all my hair and eyes are still the same. I think that might be why McGonagall wants to see us on the 18th, it's the day before I turn 19,' Hermione reasoned. She hoped no one would mention the, ah, shapely aspect of her upcoming metamorphosis.

'That's only 12 days away,' observed Blaise. She nodded.

'Let's swap books,' she suggested and reached for _Priestesses of Avalon_. Blaise quickly lifted _Dryad Lore_ , ignoring Draco's glare.

'Right, I'll go and see Tipsy about rustling up some tea,' he said curtly. Hermione absently made a noise of agreement, already absorbed in the opening chapter.

* * *

The Lady of Avalon cast a specially blended mix of herbs on the fire in her private chamber and intoned the ancient incantation that would bind Hermione's sexual magic until the equinox, four days after the anniversary of her birth. Lifting a handful of herbs from a different pot she repeated the process for Draco and smiled in satisfaction.


	28. Chapter 28

_Recap of Chapter 27_

 _The Lady of Avalon cast a specially blended mix of herbs on the fire in her private chamber and intoned the ancient incantation that would bind Hermione's sexual magic until the equinox, four days after the anniversary of her birth. Lifting a handful of herbs from a different pot she repeated the process for Draco and smiled in satisfaction._

 **A/N:** shout-outs to repeat reviewers rainsrabble (not only am I fangirling all over you but I love that you've been leaving detailed reviews for each chapter, thank you!), xchloee, IGOTEAMEDWARD, Abooknerdandproud, justlikeCanada (I'm sure I'll work some in somehow!), Rissa1986, GeekybyNature, kimbclar, Lena2244, KariA 16, Dutchess of the Depraved, pgoodrichboggs and Virginie Cires. And a special shout-out to new reviewers Discus17 and thelittleredgirl. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it and I'm sorry for not updating sooner – His Leonine Princess stole my attention and who can deny the Silver Trio?!

Today's story / author recommendation is _Say You Won't Let Go_ by ElleMalfoy65. Romantic and raunchy, it's a great read.

* * *

 **Chapter 28**

The three young adults continued to read as they sipped their tea, Draco idly skimming through _The Isle of Avalon_ again as he waited for Blaise to finish _Dryad Lore_. Hermione frowned as she noticed two pages stuck together in the volume she was holding, _Priestesses of Avalon_. She held them over the steaming spout of the teapot and slowly prised them apart, careful not to rip the old paper. The men watched as she read for a minute then began speaking quickly.

'Listen, I think I've found something! There were two pages stuck together, that's why you didn't see it Blaise. It's a fragment of a prophecy, I think it's the one Tipsy was talking about,' she said excitedly.

" _Sword born of fire, forged by vine,_

 _Chalice of yew bearing water of life,_

 _Stone from the earth, protected by hawthorn,_

 _Staff that grows the apple, fallen through air."_

'I wonder what it means,' she mused. 'It says the full prophecy is guarded by the Lady of Avalon. I keep being told to visit her but I don't see how I can – for a start no one knows how to get to Avalon, and secondly I can't leave school until the Christmas holidays. Unless it's a flying weekend visit,' Hermione tailed off, fairly sure that this trip would require longer than a couple of days. Her companions smirked at her reluctance to leave her studies even in the face of something life-altering like this.

Snape sidled back into his library portrait after updating Dumbledore and McGonagall on their progress, _and not a moment too soon_ , he thought to himself. He and Regulus had been unaware of this information, trust the bookworm witch to wring every last drop of knowledge from a text. His mind immediately began to turn over the words, searching for their hidden meaning.

'The four elements are mentioned: fire, water, earth and air,' Blaise observed, 'but other than that I can't make much sense of it.'

'The sword could be Excalibur,' Draco offered. 'Although I fail to see how a sword can be forged by wood, that's impossible,' he commented.

'If that's the case, the four things mentioned could be the Faery Hallows?' Hermione was uncertain and the statement came out as more of a question.

'I'm not sure about the chalice, but the stone could be the Stone of the Goddess, and the staff could mean the Staff of Avalon,' Blaise suggested.

'The chalice could be the Grail,' Draco added enthusiastically. 'There are hundreds of legends about drinking from the Grail and becoming immortal, which ties in with the _"water of life"_ bit.'

'Okay, I can see the logic, but I don't understand what I have to do with it. I need to speak with Tipsy,' Hermione looked to Draco and he called the little elf.

'Young Master,' Tipsy said brightly to Draco, then turned to smile at Blaise and curtsey to Hermione.

'Miss Granger wishes to speak with you, Tipsy,' Draco said.

'Sylvan spirit Lady, Tipsy is honoured. How may Tipsy help?'

'Well Tipsy, I think we've found a fragment of the prophecy you spoke of,' Hermione began. She recited the lines and waited for Tipsy's reaction.

The elf's round eyes seemed to widen and her voice was tinged with awe, 'yes my Lady that is part of the prophecy. Tipsy cannot says the rest, Lady must finds Avalon. Young master and sir must goes with Lady, and the others' she whispered. Draco and Blaise shared a look, this was news to them.

'What others? Do you know how we can get there?' Hermione strove to keep her voice low and kind, rather than screech with impatience at the cryptic instructions.

'Tipsy says no more,' she shook her head firmly.

'Wait, Tipsy,' Hermione said quickly, before the house elf could do one of her disappearing acts. 'I had a strange dream on Friday night and when I woke my skin was so hot it felt like I was on fire. Would you have any idea why that would be?'

'Tipsy says no more,' she repeated stubbornly; house elf magic was not to be shared with humans. She disappeared with a pop, leaving Hermione more frustrated than ever.

* * *

It was late afternoon when the trio stepped through the floo in the headmistress's office.

'I trust your stay was illuminating,' McGonagall greeted them. Draco glanced at Snape's smug smirk.

'I have no doubt that Severus has already filled you in,' he drawled. 'I had no idea that Mother had commissioned a portrait of you,' Draco's stare was almost accusatory, he hated to be left out of the loop.

'What can I say? Your parents obviously missed my repartee,' Snape replied modestly. Minerva and Draco both rolled their eyes. Hermione decided that was enough small talk.

'Headmistress,' she began, 'whatever it is that you're planning to tell us on the 18th, please could you just share it now? I need more information on what's going to happen to me.'

Minerva shook her head helplessly. 'I'm afraid I can't Miss Granger, I don't know the particulars myself. What I have for you is a letter from your mother but she put a time lock on it. It is spelled not to open until 7pm on the day before your birthday, in whatever year the blood magic protection runs out. The death of Severus, as the last remaining caster of the blood magic and the Secret Keeper of your heritage has triggered the countdown on the time lock. I have tried to open it myself but spells have no effect, it has been sealed with dryad magic,' the headmistress explained.

'Well that's annoying,' Blaise muttered. Draco nodded in agreement.

'We'll just need to wait it out,' he sighed.

Hermione swallowed her irritation, there was nothing to be done on the matter. 'Oh, I nearly forgot Professor, you'll be hearing from Harry. He's coming to visit tomorrow night,' she informed Minerva.

'Yes, he's already been in touch. I don't think the floo her has seen so much coming and going in years,' she said dryly. 'You should hurry along now, it's nearly time for dinner.'

The three recognised a dismissal when they heard one and left to drop their bags off in their rooms before going to the Great Hall.


	29. Chapter 29

_Recap of Chapter 28_

 _Hermione swallowed her irritation, there was nothing to be done on the matter. 'Oh, I nearly forgot Professor, you'll be hearing from Harry. He's coming to visit tomorrow night,' she informed Minerva._

' _Yes, he's already been in touch. I don't think the floo her has seen so much coming and going in years,' she said dryly. 'You should hurry along now, it's nearly time for dinner.'_

 _The three recognised a dismissal when they heard one and left to drop their bags off in their rooms before going to the Great Hall._

 **A/N:** barely any shout-outs for this chapter because I'm writing it just a couple of hours after the last one (this is what happens when I can't sleep!); however, a few of you have been quick enough to review straight away – Rissa 1986, Dutchess of the Depraved, kimbclar and BritishTonyDinozzo. Thanks so much for taking the time to leave feedback my lovelies, I really do appreciate it. Lucissa lemon coming up, absolutely zero plot.

 **Chapter 29**

Meanwhile at the Manor….

'Lucius, I'd like a cocktail before dinner,' Narcissa spoke, not looking up from her book. He immediately put his own book down, not bothering to mark his place, such was his enthusiasm. Cocktails before dinner was code for hanky panky in the library, complete with the aforementioned alcohol, naturally.

'But of course my dear,' he extended his hand to help Narcissa to her feet then escorted her from the drawing room. 'What can I get for you?'

'A large gimlet, no ice,' she said, deliberately dispensing with the niceties such as please or thank you. She was in the mood to assert her authority this evening. Lucius noticed and felt an accompanying frisson in his trousers.

'Excellent choice, I think I'll join you,' he murmured as he added lime syrup to the gin and mixed it for her before handing over the glass.

'Oh no _pet_ , I didn't say you could have one now did I?' She said archly, sipping her drink. Lucius practically panted; despite their customary Sunday morning lie in he was more than ready to play again and knelt down in front of her.

Narcissa stroked her elegant neck and let her fingers drift down to her collarbone. 'Tell me what you see, boy,' she instructed.

Lucius hesitated, 'your beautiful skin, my queen. May I kiss it?'

'No, you have been a bad boy. What you see is nothing, there is no jewellery adorning your queen's neck,' she said crossly. 'I'm missing a pearl necklace. Undress me and then yourself. I want to inspect your cock first,' she instructed. Lucius hastened to comply and she hummed in approval. 'Already hard for me, what a good boy,' Narcissa purred.

She took a semi-reclining position on the chaise longue. 'You may straddle me and if you're a _very_ good boy I'll reward you by riding you later,' Narcissa cooed. Lucius grasped himself firmly and began to stroke himself as she sipped her drink and watched with a disinterested eye. She tilted her a head a little to give him a better view of the area that required ornamentation. 'You will order me new jewels tomorrow boy, diamonds,' she commanded, successfully masking her enjoyment at his eager nod.

'Yes Mistress, anything you desire,' he rasped.

'As your prize I shall dress for dinner wearing only diamonds and my red stilettos, the ones you like,' she watched his eyes light up and his hand quicken its pace. 'Now do hurry up pet, you have more important things to do, like making me come,' she said crisply. Lucius moaned and came right there, he couldn't help his arousal at her ice queen persona. Narcissa didn't bring this side of herself out to play very often, but gods when she did... she drove him wild.

She looked at him expectantly. 'Thank you Mistress,' he panted, his breathing not yet back to normal. Narcissa arched her back seductively.

'Good boy. Now rub your cream into these titties, they require attention. Don't be gentle.' He obeyed without hesitation, he adored his wife's beautiful body and her tits really were something else. He rubbed her nipples, which were already stiff from feeling the air on her bare skin, then began to tug them firmly. She gave a gratifying moan and bucked her hips. 'More,' she breathed. He knew what she wanted and began to lightly slap the full mounds, causing her to throw her head back and moan louder. Neither of them noticed her glass drop to the floor.

'Take me to the fire and lie down on the rug,' Narcissa instructed him. Lucius rose then picked her up in his arms, cradling her as if she were the finest porcelain and walked over to the soft rug in front of the flames. He gently set her on her feet then lay down, awaiting further direction. Narcissa regarded him, wondering how far to push his limits. She decided to test him further than ever before, he was responding so beautifully after all, and she felt almost dizzy with sexual power.

She pointedly looked at his flaccid member. 'And just how do you expect to satisfy me with that?' She sneered.

His eyes widened for a second then he collected himself enough to respond. 'Please Mistress, sit on my face and let me show you how much pleasure I can give you,' Lucius begged.

Narcissa made a show of considering his words before nodding in assent. 'Alright boy, but you better make me scream or I shall have to punish you,' she said seriously. He gulped, this was new. He wasn't quite sure if the tightening in his abdomen was arousal or fear, possibly both.

'Punish me, Mistress?' He repeated, his voice betraying his uncertainty. It was one thing for him to spank her but he really didn't think he wanted to reverse that particular role, he was a Malfoy and Malfoys did not take spankings.

'Yes. If you fail to meet my expectations you shall not be permitted to come for one week. Seven full days of eating my pussy, fingering me and fucking me, but without being allowed to orgasm,' Narcissa said severely. Merlin, he'd never seen his wife look so sexy as she did right then, standing in the firelight, radiating authority and the slight sheen of his dried semen covering her tits. Justalittle more recovery time and then I'm going to fuck her into oblivion, he promised himself.

'I understand Mistress, I'm going to make you climax so hard that you'll see stars and scream my name,' he promised earnestly. She allowed him a small smile, hiding her glee at his eagerness to please her, then elegantly lowered herself down with her legs on either side of his head. With a wave of her hand she drew an armchair closer; she knew from experience that her husband's oral skills could make her collapse and she would need something to lean on.

Lucius rose to the occasion, with his tongue if nothing else, and began to lick her folds. Gods, but she smelt divine, he inhaled her musky scent like a dying man. Narcissa readjusted herself, widening her legs to give him better access. He obligingly dove deeper, using first the flat of his tongue to ease her into the sensations and then pointing it so that the stiff tip could be angled more precisely. He switched between circling her clit and jabbing in and out of her entrance as far as he could reach, giving long licks as he moved between the two. He would never tire of her taste. She began to grind down on his face, angling herself so that his nose stimulated her special pearl. She could care less about his need for oxygen at that moment, her needs were paramount. Knowing she was close he reached his hands up and roughly pulled her nipples, causing her to scream his name at the top of her lungs as she came fast and hard all over his face.

'Fuck. Fuck. Well done, pet. Very good boy,' she gasped as she fell forward onto the armchair. With some careful manoeuvring Lucius moved her onto her back and positioned himself between her legs.

'Please Mistress,' he all but whimpered. He was going to die if he couldn't busy himself in that sweet little pussy. She gave him a satiated smile and moved her head slightly in assent, before she had finished Lucius forcefully thrust into her centre, stretching her delicate tissues.

'Oh yes, my big boy. Fuck my royal cunt hard with that huge cock of yours,' she breathed in his ear. She knew exactly how to flatter his ego and to be honest, she wasn't exaggerating, he really did have the most fantastic dick, long and deliciously thick. Lucius bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from shooting his load right there. His gorgeous wife really was breaking new ground tonight! He got so turned on whenever she talked dirty, that prissy little mouth never swore at any other time, only when he was inside her. 'Aren't you lucky to be allowed to fuck your queen? I'm expecting a lot of cream from you, I want it dripping it out of me and then you're going to clean me up,' she panted, her breathing growing frantic as her climax started to build.

Lucius shifted and pulled her legs over his shoulders to bury himself deeper inside his wife's pussy, she was soaking wet and each thrust created an erotic squelching sound. 'Yes my lady, I'm honoured to be permitted inside your royal cunt. You're so fucking wet and tight, feels so good,' he became incoherent as he neared his peak and then her cries mixed with his shouts as they were transported over the edge into bliss.

Narcissa's last thought before she drifted off to sleep in her husband's arms, both too spent to move from the floor, was that she could get used to be being a queen.


End file.
